As public property it dates back to the city charter in 1686, and has seen many uses including that of gunpowder storage, square/parade grounds, and cemetery.

Many architectural works line the streets facing the park, designed by some of the most famous architects of the late 19th century, including Henry Hobson Richardson.

[6] Work on the Washington Parade Grounds between Willett and Knox streets was begun in July 1870 and finished by the end of the year.

Nine acres of mostly row houses along Knox Street north of Madison were purchased, destroyed, and landscaped in 1880;[6][10] this included the area that would be the site of the King Memorial Fountain.

[6] The large house and landscaped grounds of John Taylor was the last part of the park to be purchased, in 1882, since 1889 it has been the site of tennis courts.

The total construction cost of the park, including purchasing the real estate and improving Western Avenue, was $1,073,020.91.

Entrances to Washington Park from Thurlow Terrace and Englewood Place were closed in 1972 turning those into dead end streets from Western Avenue.

[18] After deteriorating over the decades Washington Park saw a revival in the 1990s and 2000s with the flower beds being restored to their original specifications, the pedestrian mall removed of pavement and widened to its original dimensions with disease-resistant elms planted to form a canopy, the King Fountain relit at night, and the lilac shrub border around the periphery of the park being restored.

The wooden lake house was replaced in 1929 with a "modern" brick structure while the others over time succumbed to age and changing use-patterns for the park and no longer stand.

[6] The current Washington Park Lake House was built in 1929 replacing the original stick style structure constructed in 1876.

A proposal by the city to turn the lake house into a 125-seat restaurant and 200-seat banquet hall with an expanded dock with boat, cross-country ski, and ice skate rentals failed to materialize due to a lack of interest from the private business sector.

[20] Washington Park has many activities open to visitors and residents, some maintained by the city, others are spontaneously set up by individuals.

[29][31] The city, the Albany Police Athletic League, and Hannaford supermarkets sponsor the Capital Holiday Lights every winter, with 125 displays through the park.

[32] Many fund raisers are held every year in the park as well, such as the American Cancer Society walkathon and the Freihofer's Run for Women.

[33][34] The Freihofer's Run is an International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Silver Label race that draws professional marathon runners from Kenya, Ethiopia, Australia, and all across the United States along with locals as well.

Many of these homes were built for industrialists, bankers, railroad executives, and politicians by notable national architects such as Henry Hobson Richardson and Stanford White, and local ones such as Marcus T. Reynolds and Albert Fuller.

Nearby 28 Willett Street was the home of Martin Glynn, an owner and publisher of the Albany Times Union, a state comptroller, and the governor of New York from 1913 to 1914.

[1] A few buildings, such as 694 and 710 Madison predate park improvements that occurred across the street at the Taylor property, which later became basketball and tennis courts.

[6] South Lake Avenue facing Washington Park consists of 23 rowhouses, a modern apartment building, and a converted carriage house.

[6] Englewood Place and Thurlow Terrace were constructed by the Commissioners of Washington Park and maintained by them for some time, with half the maintenance cost assessed on the private property facing the street.

[4] Englewood Place was a part of Robin Street until receiving its current name in the 1870s; it was laid out in lots in 1879, with large mansions and carriage houses built between 1879 and 1887.

[6] From 1958 to 1972 the State University of New York owned 7, 8, 9, and 10 Thurlow Terrace as their central administration, prior to moving to One Commerce Plaza.