The photographs have been physically removed from the Sherwood files and integrated with the Archives Photograph Collection. Although separated, the photographs are included in the Sherwood Guide. They have been scanned, cataloged, and indexed and are included in the online photograph index on the Seattle Municipal Archives web site.

The photographs collected by Sherwood include approximately 2,400 images documenting roughly 140 properties, facilities, and events that have been administered by the Department of Parks and Recreation. The images document sports and recreation on Seattle’s playgrounds, parks landscaping, the construction of parks facilities, and the City’s boulevards.

Secondarily, the images document leisure time activities, the City’s social history, and Works Projects Administration endeavors. They depict the physical development of parks, such as the dredging of Green Lake and the draining of Dahl Field, as well as elements or activities that no longer exist, such as the Licton Springs health spa and the Potlatch Parade.

Among the largest files of images are Green Lake, Lake Washington Boulevard, Leschi Park, Lincoln Park, Ravenna Park, Sayres Park, Seward Park, Volunteer Park, Woodland Park, and Woodland Park Zoo. The images are arranged alphabetically by name of park or facility.

A substantial number of the photographs collected by Sherwood were created by one of three well known local studios: those of Asahel Curtis, Frank H. Nowell, and Webster and Stevens.

Asahel Curtis (1874-1941) came to Seattle with his family in 1888, and six years later he established a photographic studio. Unlike his more famous brother, Edward, he did not consider himself an artist. Curtis was a commercial photographer, and his clients were businessmen, promoters, and government agencies. He was also commissioned by a newspaper to photograph the Klondike Gold Rush. Curtis' life work was a monumental survey of the Pacific Northwest, comprising over 60,000 photographic plates and negatives.

Frank H. Nowell (1864-1950) went to Nome, Alaska in 1900, where he opened his first studio. Between 1901 and 1908, Nowell created a photographic chronicle of the Territory. In 1908 he was appointed the Official Photographer of the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition in Seattle. Following the Exposition, Nowell remained in Seattle and opened a new studio.

Ira (Ike) Webster (c.1870-1942) and Nelson Stevens (c.1875-1938) were the founders of the studio that carried their names until 1981. They came to Seattle in 1899 from their hometown of Portland, Michigan, and initially worked in the studios of other photographers. In 1903 they opened their own studio and from 1906 to 1928 were the exclusive photographers to The Seattle Times (one of the region's principal daily newspapers). Seattle's Museum of History and Industry holds 55,000 negatives produced during the early years of the firm.