Portland dethroned by Japan for owner of ‘World's Smallest Park', Guinness says
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — It's official: Portland is no longer the owner of the world's smallest park, according to Guinness World Records.
Portland's Mill Ends Park, found along Naito Parkway near Tom McCall Waterfront Park, was officially dethroned from the title on Tuesday, after holding the record since 1971.
The honor now belongs to a town called Nagaizumi in Japan, located just over an hour southwest from Tokyo.
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Their park's area is just two and half square feet, which is about the size of a few sheets of paper. According to Guinness, it features an entrance, a small bench and some grass.
Shuji Koyama, a team leader at the construction management division of Nagaizumi, told GWR that the park was originally created in 1988 to make best use of free space on the road.
But the original inspiration struck when a Nagaizumi resident vacationing in Oregon came across Mill Ends Park, measuring at 452 square inches. From there, Koyama said the team members set out to create an even smaller park.
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After the town recently set out to make the record official, they 'brought in a professional surveyor to measure the exact area of the park and gathered additional information as required by GWR guidelines,' Guinness said.
Once the park was recognized as the world record holder, Koyama told Guinness he was 'relieved.'
'We want to continue maintaining the park with the community, as well as creating a landscape that is more social media friendly, so that even more people will find attractions of our town,' he added.
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