Seward Park

Seward Park, Job #02724, Seattle, WA

Olmsted Archives

Quick Facts

Location:

Seattle, WA

Significance:

Olmsted Designed Park

MANAGED BY:

Seattle Parks and Recreation

The Olmsted firm, then Olmsted Brothers after the death of Frederick Sr., were commissioned by the City of Seattle to prepare a comprehensive system of parks and boulevards. Leading the project was John Charles Olmsted, whose first recommendation was to purchase Bailey Peninsula, then outside city lines.

In his 1903 report, John Charles encouraged Seattle to acquire the land before the forest was cleared for logging or development. The city began purchasing and developing land according to Olmsted’s suggestions, and in 1911, Seattle finally purchased the Bailey Peninsula for $322,000.

As the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition neared, Seattle pushed hard to develop the parks and boulevards John Charles had previously recommended in 1903. Bailey Peninsula became Seward Park to honor former President Lincoln’s Secretary of State, William Seward, who was responsible for purchasing Alaska from Russia in 1867.

John Charles Olmsted wrote his preliminary plan for Seward Park in 1912, where he called for programmed spaces like a dancing pavilion, tennis and basketball courts, and a small boat harbor. The design is a perfect example of the Olmsted Brothers’ ecological approach to designing parks, with many woodland and shoreline trails.

Though the Olmsted plan was never fully implemented, John Charles’ 1912 plan influenced later development at the park, and one of Seattle’s oldest growing native forest, the same that John Charles marveled at, got to retain its habitat.

Source: "Seward Park- WA," The Cultural Landscape Foundation

For more information and primary resources, please visit:
Olmsted Research Guide Online
Olmsted Archives on Flickr
Olmsted Online