List of Olmsted parks in Seattle
In 1903, commissioned by the city of Seattle, Washington, the Olmsted Brothers landscape architects planned many of the parks in the City of Seattle as part of a comprehensive plan to create a greenbelt throughout the city.[1][2] The planning continued in several phases, culminating in the final Olmsted-planned park, Washington Park Arboretum in 1936.[1][3]
The existing Seattle Parks and Recreation system has been described as "one of the best-preserved Olmsted park systems in the country".[4] In 2016, the Olmsted parks system was added to the National Register of Historic Places as a multiple property submission.[5]
1903 plan
- Sunset Hill Park
- Green Lake Park
- Ravenna & Cowen Park
- Woodland Park
- Magnolia Bluff
- Interlaken Park
- Volunteer Park
- Cal Anderson Park
- Madrona Park
- Frink Park
- Colman Park
- Mount Baker Park
- Jefferson Park
- Seward Park
1908 plan
Other
- Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition (current University of Washington main campus)
- Denny-Blaine Park (One of the "improved parks" mentioned in the Seattle Park Board's annual report for 1909)
The City of Seattle Parks and Recreation department lists a number of other parks, playgrounds, and playfields "influenced or recommended" by the Olmsteds, including the city's largest park: 534-acre (2.16 km2) Discovery Park.[1]
References
- ^ a b c Park History - Olmsted Parks, City of Seattle Parks and Recreation, retrieved 2012-01-12
- ^ HistoryLink and Friends of Olmsted Parks (September 29, 2004), "Olmsted Park Plans for Seattle Cybertour", HistoryLink, Seattle: History Ink
- ^ Botanic Gardens: History, University of Washington, archived from the original on 2010-09-21, retrieved 2011-01-12
- ^ Kathy Mulady (April 1, 2003), City celebrates park pioneer Olmsted, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, retrieved 2012-01-12
- ^ "National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form: Seattle's Olmsted Parks and Boulevards (1903–68)" (PDF). National Park Service. December 15, 2016. Retrieved August 7, 2020 – via Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation.
Further reading
- Valerie Easton (April 27, 2003), "The Olmsted Legacy: Masters of Green / From Street to Shore, a Living Legacy of Distinctive Public Places", Pacific Northwest magazine, The Seattle Times, retrieved 2012-01-12
- Frederick Law Olmsted, Metro Parks Tacoma, January 9, 2011, archived from the original on 2007-10-28, retrieved 2012-01-12
- David B. Williams, A Brief History of Seattle's Olmsted Legacy, Friends of Seattle's Olmsted Parks (hosted at Seattle Parks and Recreation), retrieved 2012-01-12
- Olmsted Parks Study (PDF), Seattle Parks and Recreation, Summer 2018, retrieved February 21, 2019