.gif)
Seward Park (Seattle)
Encyclopedia
Park
A park is a protected area, in its natural or semi-natural state, or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas. Many parks are legally protected by...
in Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
, U.S.A., that occupies all of Bailey Peninsula, a forested peninsula
Peninsula
A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....
off south Seattle that juts into Lake Washington
Lake Washington
Lake Washington is a large freshwater lake adjacent to the city of Seattle. It is the largest lake in King County and the second largest in the state of Washington, after Lake Chelan. It is bordered by the cities of Seattle on the west, Bellevue and Kirkland on the east, Renton on the south and...
.
One approaches the park from the north by Lake Washington Boulevard S, from the south by Seward Park Avenue S., or from the west by S Orcas Street. The main parking lot and a tennis court are located in the southwest corner. The most commonly used trail
Trail
A trail is a path with a rough beaten or dirt/stone surface used for travel. Trails may be for use only by walkers and in some places are the main access route to remote settlements...
is a car-free loop around the park. It is flat and 2.4 miles long ( 3.8 km). The perimeter trail was repaved in 2007. Other trails run through the interior, including a few car-accessible roads that lead to amenities including an amphitheater and picnic area. Seward Park features numerous small beaches, the largest one on its southwest side, as well as a playground and an arts center.
The 300 acres (121 ha) of Seward Park have about a 120 acre (48.6 ha) surviving remnant of old growth forest, providing a glimpse of what some of the lake shore looked like before the city of Seattle. With trees older than 250 years and many less than 200, the Seward Park forest is relatively young (the forests of Seattle before the city was fully mature, were up through 1,000–2,000 years old).
Seward Park offers at least five unique experiences.
The first Seward Park experience is the fabled beach on Andrews'Bay. Flanked by a broad lawn and with full facilities, it is one of Seattle's best lakeshore beaches, especially now that the Bay is clean.
On the other side of this beach is the second experience: a playground, tennis courts, and several large parking lots. This is the most social part of Seward Park, and the lot can often be found swirling with music, as neighboring residents sometimes throw impromptu parties in this area of the park.
The third experience is in the "upper lots," which provide parking for a large picnic area and one of Seattle's finest outdoor ampitheatre. Civic events are often held im the ampitheatre, which has beautiful views of th old-growth forest, and it has become a well-known spot to celebrate that is the diversity of both Seattle and its South End. These parking lots can also host impromptu parties.
The fourth experience is the old growth forest itself. Granite trail markers help hikers navigate their way in this magical space, where one can completely forget the dynamic growing metropolitan area that surrounds it.\
The fifth experience is the paved perimeter of the park, which is a favorite place for meighbors and visitors alike to walk, run, bike, and blade. The permimeter reminds its user of the vast metropolis that is Seattle, since it affords to the south of the park (1) a view of Mount Rainier dominating South Lake Washington, as well as Boeing plants; to the east of the park (2) fine view of Mercer Island; north of th park (3) the downtown skyscrapers jutting out over the Mount Baker/Leschi ridge, (4) the busy hum of I-90, and (5), the little gem of the Jefferson Park golf course, where famous local golfer Fred Couples got his start as a boy growing up on Beacon Hill; and finally, to the west of the park, the many fine homes climbing the "ridge with no name" that flanks the entire western side of the park (the southernmost peak of this ridge is sometimes referred to as "Graham Hill," and has a school named after it, but the name has never really taken, since the ridge extends well beyond the natural boundaries of Graham Hill).
History
Lushootseed
Lushootseed is the language or dialect continuum of several SalishNative American groups of modern-day Washington state...
: squbáqst). Before the completion of the Lake Washington Ship Canal
Lake Washington Ship Canal
The Lake Washington Ship Canal, which runs through the City of Seattle, Washington, connects the fresh water body of Lake Washington with the salt water inland sea of Puget Sound. The Ship Canal includes a series of locks, modeled after the Panama Canal, to accommodate the different water levels...
in 1916 lowered the level of Lake Washington, the peninsula was an island with points, or "noses", at the north and south ends.
The purchase of the park was suggested as early as 1892, but was sidelined due to its distance from what was then the city. However, the Olmsted Brothers assimilated it into its plan for Seattle parks, and the city of Seattle bought Bailey Peninsula in 1911 for $322,000, and named the park after William H. Seward
William H. Seward
William Henry Seward, Sr. was the 12th Governor of New York, United States Senator and the United States Secretary of State under Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson...
, former United States Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
, of Alaska Purchase
Alaska purchase
The Alaska Purchase was the acquisition of the Alaska territory by the United States from Russia in 1867 by a treaty ratified by the Senate. The purchase, made at the initiative of United States Secretary of State William H. Seward, gained of new United States territory...
fame.
At the entrance to the park, in a wooded island filled with flowers between the circular entrance and exit road, there is a little-known monument: a taiko-gata stone lantern, a gift of friendship from the City of Yokohama
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
, Japan, to the City of Seattle, given in 1930 in gratitude to Seattle's assistance to Yokohama after the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923.
Since at least early July, 2004, the park has become a home to wild rabbits and a growing colony of feral Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
vian conures (parrots, either the Chapman's mitred or the scarlet-fronted), who were released into the wild by their owners (or some escaped). They fly between Seward Park and Maple Leaf
Maple Leaf, Seattle, Washington
Maple Leaf is a mostly residential neighborhood in Seattle, originally a rural suburb named Maple Leaf Addition to the Green Lake Tract or Green Lake Circle...
in northeast Seattle. The park is also home to two nesting pairs of bald eagle
Bald Eagle
The Bald Eagle is a bird of prey found in North America. It is the national bird and symbol of the United States of America. This sea eagle has two known sub-species and forms a species pair with the White-tailed Eagle...
s, who can frequently be seen flying over Lake Washington and diving to the water's surface to catch fish and ducks.
Renovation on the Tudor-style house at the entrance to Seward Park—originally the Seward Park Inn, a Seattle city landmark—was completed early in 2008 and is now the Seward Park Environmental & Audubon Center. Programming at the Center and in the park includes school, youth, community, arts in the environment, and special events. The Center also includes exhibits, an extensive library, a laboratory, and a small gift shop.
Further reading
- Friends of Seward Park
- "Seward Park", Seattle Parks and Recreation
- Large Jewish population calls diverse community home