Past Events
Walking Tours
Events
Bus & Walking Tour: Olmsted Legacy with Seattle Parks
MultipleTravel along Olmsted-designed boulevards to three historic parks (Seward Park, Washington Park Arboretum, and Volunteer Park). Guides from Friends of Seattle’s Olmsted Parks will introduce and lead you on short walks through some of Seattle’s most beautiful outdoor spaces. Walks will be on a variety of surfaces, including lawn and gravel paths. Walking distance will be less than 1 mile total.
$140Bus Tour: Historic Olmsted Parks of West Seattle with Academy for Lifelong Learning Resources
MultipleDue to the tremendous response of our Seattle Olmsted Park excursion last year, this June we continue our visit to Olmsted-designed parks on Seattle’s west side.
$150Walking Tour of Interlaken Park & Boulevard
Interlaken Park 2451 Delmar Dr E, Seattle, WA, United StatesSign up here This walk will take you down a wooded trail through Interlaken Park to Interlaken Blvd. The route then travels east along the boulevard to 24th Ave., then backtracks to follow the boulevard in the other direction. John Charles Olmsted laid out Interlaken Boulevard along an early bicycle path heading westward from Lake […]
FreeWalking Tour of Washington Park Arboretum with UWBG
Washington Park Arboretum 2300 Arboretum Drive East, SeattleThe city first acquired Washington Park from the Puget Mill Company in 1900. By 1904, the city hired the Olmsted Brothers firm to prepare drawings for a roadway alignment through the park. Plans for how a “pleasure drive” would connect Lake Washington Boulevard to the university campus through Washington Park evolved quickly over the next […]
$30
Walking Tour of Discovery Park
FeaturedDiscovery Park WA, United StatesOfficer's Barracks, 1907 (Asahel Curtis). Courtesy UW Special Collections Learn about John Charles Olmsted's original impressions and vision for Fort Lawton, renamed Discovery Park in the 1970's. Olmsted envisioned this park as the north anchor of Seattle's inter-connected system of parks and boulevards, extending throughout the city from Seward Park in the southeast. The tour […]
FreeWalking Tour of Kinnear Park and SW Queen Anne
Kinnear Park 899 W Olympic Pl, Seattle, WA, United StatesJoin us on a free walking tour of Kinnear Park and SW Queen Anne! This 1.5 mile loop tour will focus on the Olmsted-related history of the south Queen Anne neighborhood and Kinnear Park, Seattle’s second oldest park. Learn more and register for free at the Eventbrite link below.
FreeWalking Tour of Cal Anderson Park
Cal Anderson Park 1635 11th Ave, SeattleJoin us on a free walking tour of Cal Anderson Park. The city’s "newest oldest" Olmsted-designed park is the hub of the Capitol Hill neighborhood. It sensitively combines historic preservation and new design in the Olmsted tradition. The spacious design accommodates a wide variety of uses and users. Even while it creates areas for new […]
Free
Walking Tour of Lakeview, Viretta, and Denny Blaine Parks
Lakeview Park Lake Washington Blvd, East Harrison Street, and 37th Avenue East, Seattle, WA, United StatesJoin us on a free walking tour of three Seattle parks. This tour is of a lesser known segment of the system, but a pivotal one. Two of the three parks exemplify public/private conflicts over use and “ownership” of park land - a seemingly perpetual tension.
FreeMount Baker Park and Boulevard Walking Tour
Mount Baker Beach SeattleJoin Friends of Seattle's Olmsted Parks for this free walking tour of Mt. Baker Park and Boulevard!
University of Washington Campus Walking Tour
University of Washington WA, United StatesJoin UW Botanic Gardens and the Friends of Seattle’s Olmsted Parks on the final walking tour of Seattle’s Olmsted Brothers historic design legacy this summer! Relocated from downtown northward to larger, less-developed acreage in 1895, the University of Washington consisted of just six buildings when the Olmsted Brothers firm prepared a general campus plan in […]
$30
Volunteer Park Walking Tour
Volunteer Park 1247 15th Ave. E, SeattleJoin UW Botanic Gardens and the Friends of Seattle’s Olmsted Parks on a walking tour of Seattle’s Olmsted Brothers parks and parkways this summer! Volunteer Park is often referred to as the crown jewel of Seattle’s Olmsted park and boulevard system, as its most complete and best-preserved Olmsted-designed landscape. Land purchased in 1876 was originally […]
$30Magnolia Park and Boulevard Walking Tour
Magnolia Park 1461 Magnolia Boulevard West, SeattleCalled out as “Magnolia Bluffs Park” in Olmsted’s 1908 report, Olmsted envisioned this scenic park bordering the “Magnolia Bluffs Parkway” (Magnolia Boulevard), which he first proposed in 1903.
Schmitz Preserve Park Walking Tour
Schmitz Preserve Park Meet near the intersection of 58th Ave SW and SW Stevens St, Seattle, WA, United States53-acre Schmitz Preserve Park was donated to the City of Seattle in pieces between 1908 and 1912. The most generous portion came from a German immigrant/banker/realtor named Ferdinand Schmitz, who served on the park commission during those years. He and his wife Emma donated the land “to be used perpetually…for park purposes…in order that certain […]
Free
Washington Park Arboretum Walking Tour
Washington Park Arboretum 2300 Arboretum Drive East, SeattleJoin UW Botanic Gardens and the Friends of Seattle’s Olmsted Parks at Washington Park Arboretum for walking tours of Seattle’s Olmsted Brothers parks and parkways this summer! The city first acquired Washington Park from the Puget Mill Company in 1900. By 1904, the city hired the Olmsted Brothers firm to prepare drawings for a roadway […]
$30Pop-Up Seattle – Dunn Gardens
E.B. Dunn Gardens 13533 Northshire Road NW, Seattle, United StatesJoin the Olmsted Network for tour and lunch at the historic Dunn Gardens in Seattle, WA. We’ll explore the magnificent grounds together— with history and horticulture experts leading the way— before gathering for a boxed lunch and conversation. Attendees are encouraged to wear comfortable clothes and walking shoes. All are welcome to stay at the […]
$50
Jefferson Park Walking Tour
Jefferson Park 3801 Beacon Ave. South, SeattleJohn Charles 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 […]
Free
Art Installation Opening: “UNION” by John Grade
Washington Park Arboretum 2300 Arboretum Drive East, SeattleJoin us on Sunday, September 24th for a FREE public event in the Washington Park Arboretum with a plant sale, food trucks, tours, and new art!
Free
Woodland Park & Woodland Park Zoo Tour
Woodland Park 1000 N 50th Street, SeattleWhen the Olmsted's arrived in 1903 to plan Seattle's park and boulevard system, Woodland Park was the city’s largest public park. Purchased from the widow of Guy Phinney in 1899 for $100,000, it was six miles outside Seattle's city limits. The Phinney estate consisted of a large house where the Woodland Park Zoo’s south parking […]
UW Botanic Gardens: Jefferson Park Walking Tour
Jefferson Park 3801 Beacon Ave. South, SeattleJ.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 […]
$30
Hiawatha Park & Playfield Tour
Hiawatha Playfield 2700 California Avenue SW, SeattleDeclared a City of Seattle landmark in 1984, Hiawatha Park and Playfield was designed by the Olmsted Brothers Firm in 1910. It began a ’new era in public recreation in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest’. At the time, it was the largest public playfield in Seattle. It included a playground, athletic field, tennis and basketball […]
UW Botanic Gardens: Washington Park Arboretum Walking Tour
Washington Park Arboretum 2300 Arboretum Drive East, SeattleThe city first acquired Washington Park from the Puget Mill Company in 1900. By 1904, the city hired the Olmsted Brothers firm to prepare drawings for a roadway alignment through the park. Plans for how a “pleasure drive” would connect Lake Washington Boulevard to the university campus through Washington Park evolved quickly over the next […]
$30
Leschi & Frink Park Tour
Frink Park 398 Lake Washington Boulevard South, SeattleLeschi and Frink Parks were privately-owned parks open to the public when John Charles Olmsted arrived in 1903 to design Seattle's Park and Boulevard system. Olmsted referred to these steeply-sloped parks as the “Rainier Heights Landslide Section" and recommended that the entire area become part of Seattle's park system to prevent major loss from future […]
UW Botanic Gardens: University of Washington Campus Walking Tour
University of Washington WA, United StatesRelocated from downtown northward to larger, less-developed acreage in 1895, the University of Washington consisted of just six buildings when the Olmsted Brothers firm prepared a general campus plan in 1903. John Charles Olmsted returned in 1906 to design the grounds for the 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition (AYPE), which attracted over three million people to Seattle […]
$30UW Botanic Gardens: Seward Park Walking Tour
Seward Park 5900 Lake Washington Blvd. South, SeattleOriginally called Bailey Peninsula, Seward Park boasts some of Seattle’s oldest-growth native forest thanks to John Charles Olmsted, who helped save it from development by encouraging the city to include its purchase in the park and boulevard system he designed in 1903. Bailey Peninsula was far outside the City limits when Olmsted proposed including it […]
$30
Delridge “Dell” Tour
Delridge Neighborhood 26th Avenue SW & SW Yancy Street, SeattleThe Olmsted Brothers' 1903 report did not include West Seattle because it was still outside Seattle's city limits. But when the neighborhood was annexed in 1907, Olmsted was hired back to add to his original park and boulevard plan. He recommended connecting boulevards between the City's east side and West Seattle. In addition to the […]
FreeMagnolia Boulevard Madrone Walk
Magnolia Boulevard W Glenmont Ln & Magnolia Blvd W, SeattleSeattle’s Olmsted Parks and Boulevards was imagined as a system of beautiful landscapes and boulevards in the late 1800s. Magnolia Boulevard is home to some of the most picturesque views foregrounded by madrone with an expansive Puget Sound backdrop. In late November, Seattle Parks and Recreation installed a series of planting beds to protect larger […]
FreeGreen Lake Tour – Saturday, June 18, 2022
Green Lake 7201 East Green Lake Dr N, Seattle, WA, United StatesJoin Friends of Seattle's Olmsted Parks for an in-person guided tour of Green Lake About the Green Lake tour: Meet at the north entry to Green Lake Community Center. The distance around the lake is 2.8 miles. The tour will last approximately 2 to 2 1/2 hours. It is appropriate for all ages. These walks […]
Join Us on September 21 for our Walking Tour of the UW Campus & FSOP Annual Meeting
FeaturedUniversity of Washington WA, United StatesView of Rainier Vista, UW Campus, from Drumheller Fountain. This walking tour will be followed by our annual meeting and potluck, which all are welcome to attend. On the tour, learn about the Olmsted Brothers' design of the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition in 1909 and experience its lasting legacy, the central axial green of Rainier Vista. […]
Schmitz Preserve Park Walking Tour
Schmitz Preserve Park Meet near the intersection of 58th Ave SW and SW Stevens St, Seattle, WA, United StatesBridge across stream in Schmitz Preserve Park, 1910. Courtesy Seattle Municipal Archives, 30259. We will meet at the park sign near the intersection of 58th Ave. SW and SW Stevens St., close to Alki Elementary School. We’ll take a look at the park as a component of the Olmsted system of parks and boulevard, […]
Denny-Blaine, Lakeview, & Viretta Parks Walking Tour
Denny-Blaine Park 200 Lake Washington Blvd E, Seattle, WA, United StatesLearn about Olmsted's vision for Lake Washington Boulevard as it climbed the slope toward Washington Park, and view some early neighborhood parks established in 1901 with the platting of a new subdivision. We will also visit the Bush School's oldest building and a couple of estates designed by Olmsted. The tour will begin and end […]
May 18th Walking Tour — SW Queen Anne Hill
Kinnear Park 899 W Olympic Pl, Seattle, WA, United StatesMembers of the Queen Anne Historical Society will be joining us and talking about early development and historical properties that we'll encounter on this walk.
Correction — Walking Tour Date
Please note that the date for our final walking tour of the season, through Cal Anderson Park, has been changed. Originally scheduled for Saturday, September 15, it is now to occur the following Saturday, September 22nd. We are still meeting at 10:00am, by the Shelter House. We do hope you will join us! Cal Anderson […]
Interlaken Park & Boulevard Walking Tour
Interlaken Park 2451 Delmar Dr E, Seattle, WA, United StatesCome learn about some of the park’s history, including how the roadway traces an earlier bike trail system and how the park fulfills some basic tenets of the Olmsted Brothers’ design philosophy. Given this summer’s heat, a walk through the woods may be just the thing! We will meet and start at the intersection of […]
A Park System for All: The Olmsted Vision for Seattle – May 10th
Join historian and former FSOP board member at the Mercer Island Public Library on May 10th at 7:00 p.m. to learn about Seattle's Olmsted Brothers-designed park and boulevard system. Jennifer will talk about the Olmsted Brothers' vision for the park system, how it was implemented, and how it has shaped Seattle and contributed to the […]