This is the Mary Lou Beatty Memorial Park – and it’s very, very, very small

If you ever find yourself in Olympia, Washington, make sure you take a trip to the Mary Lou Beatty Memorial Park.

There’s no boating lake, no wildlife of note, no playground, no sports facilities – in fact there’s nothing much of anything at all.

That’s because the “park” measures just four square inches.

In truth it’s little more than a tuft of grass between some paving stones, but it has a lovely story to go with it.

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The park is dedicated to Mary Lou Beatty, an Olympia resident who worked as a volunteer bookkeeper at a nearby store.

According to the park’s website, every year on her birthday she would put grass seed on the spot where the park now stands and joked that it was her memorial park.

So, when she died, a brass plaque and a “keep off the grass” sign were added and her joke became a reality.

The news section of the website is full of useful information about events that won’t be happening there.

Under the headline “Beatty Memorial Park will not host huge music festival”, one post reads: “In news that will surprise no one, Beatty Memorial Park will not be hosting any huge music festivals this year.

“That said, we may host several ‘Music in the Park’ events. Over-capacity crowd arrangements are currently being discussed.”

Be aware if you do visit, the park does have rules.

The site states: “Pets must be on leashes. The Park is available on a first come, first serve basis. Sorry, but CAMPING IS NOT PERMITTED.”

Sadly, the tuft of green isn’t officially recognised by Guinness World Records as the world’s smallest park.

That honour goes to Mill Ends Park in Portland, Oregon, a circular green space with a diameter of 24 inches.