[3] The park was envisioned by American architect Daniel Hudson Burnham[4] as part of a larger plan for the city of Baguio in 1905.

[7] The park's design is influenced from the City Beautiful movement; It has a small pond or lagoon situated at the green space's center and has regimented rows of grass and sidewalk.

[7] According to the Baguio Heritage Foundation in 2014, only the open field often used for football and the Melvin Jones Grandstand adhere to Burnham's original design for the park.

[9][10][11] The city government of Baguio has been in charge of the administration, maintenance, and management of the park since February 10, 1995 when Executive Order No.

244 issued by President Fidel Ramos transferred the responsibilities in operating the park to the Baguio local government from the Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA).

The Athletic Bowl area hosts an archery range and a nursery where the park administration grow seedlings.

In early 2013, it underwent dredging which saw the removal of a meter (3.28 feet) thick silt sitting on the lake's bed.

[22] Government of Baguio and SM Prime Holdings Inc. signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on the improvement and rehabilitation of the Children's Playground inside Burnham Park.

[27] The Garden is dominated by a Statue of the 5 main Igorot Tribes the Ibalois, Bontocs, Kalingas, Ifugaos and the Kankanaeys.

The Melvin Jones Grandstand and the adjacent open field is situated at the eastern portion of the park.

The venue hosts concerts, parades and other activities while association football could also be played in the open field.

The three most dominant species belong to the families of Myrtaceae, Moraceae and Bignoniaceae while two were identified as endemic in the Philippines namely Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon) and mutha (Cyperus rotundus).