The world’s smallest park, where ‘fairies’ and not ‘humans’ live, the name of this 2-foot garden is recorded in the Guinness Book!

Imagine a park where you do not need to walk for hours, rather you can cross it in one step. ‘Mill End’s Park, Portland, located in the city of Portland, Oregon, USA, is the smallest official park in the world. This park, with a diameter of only two feet, is actually a small place in the middle of the road, which the people here consider no less than a huge national park. The reputation of this park can be gauged from the fact that its name is recorded in the ‘Guinness Book of World Records’ as the smallest park in the world. The story of this unique park started in the year 1948. In fact, at the place where this park is located today, the Municipal Corporation had dug a pit to install a light pole.

When the pole was not installed for a long time, weeds started growing there. This crater was clearly visible from the office window of Oregon Journal columnist Dick Fagan, located nearby. He decided to make this empty space beautiful and planted flowers there. Fagan started writing imaginary and funny stories about this park in his column ‘Mill Ends’, due to which this small hole became famous overnight. Dick Fagan often claimed that the park was inhabited by miniature fairies and leprechauns (magical characters from Irish folklore) that only he could see. He once told the story that he caught a leprechaun digging there and asked him for a park. Since he did not tell the size, the leprechaun gave him the same small hole.

Fagan had named the head of that leprechaun ‘Patrick O’Toole’. Even after Fagan’s death in 1969, the city continued to care for the park, and it was officially declared a city park in 1976. With time many fun things were added to this small park. Here a small swimming pool and diving board were installed for butterflies, a tiny Ferris wheel was brought and even models of small flying saucers (UFO) were kept. Small scale concerts and picnics are often organized here. Every year a special celebration is celebrated here on St. Patrick’s Day. This park may just look like a flower pot, but for the residents of Portland, it is a big part of their culture and creativity.