UW Botanic Gardens: Jefferson Park Walking Tour

J.C. Olmsted visited the large tract of city-owned land on Beacon Hill (now Jefferson Park) in 1903 when he toured the city to develop his city-wide system of parks and boulevards. In the 1903 report, Olmsted recommended ways the city could develop the eastern section into ball fields, walkways, and pleasure drives. Originally purchased by the city for use as a cemetery and reservoir site (fed by the water mains on the “pipe line road,” later Beacon Avenue), the land parcels were acquired by the Parks department through a series of transactions beginning in 1909.

In 1912, Olmsted developed a preliminary plan for a larger tract of land designated for park purposes. It included a golf course east of Beacon Avenue and, on the west side of the boulevard, ballfields, a playground, a running track, and shelter at a viewpoint overlooking Elliott Bay between Beacon Avenue and city water system reservoirs. Beacon Avenue became part of the boulevard system, too, connecting to Cheasty Boulevard. Though the Olmsted Brothers’ plan would not be implemented in its entirety, it would inform the redevelopment of the park that began in 2001.

Cost: $30 Order tickets here. Financial aid slots available on a first-come, first-served basis.