Past Events
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 […]
Friends of Seattle’s Olmsted Parks Annual Meeting
Washington Park Arboretum 2300 Arboretum Drive East, SeattleJoin the Friends of Seattle's Olmsted Park board for their annual meeting. Timeline: 5:15 - Arrival and networking 5:45 - Welcome remarks, introductions, reports and updates; followed by Board and officer elections 7 - Departure Please register in advance via Eventbrite. Limited parking available. About our board: The Friends of Seattle's Olmsted Parks (FSOP) board […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Summer Series at the Amphitheater 2023
Volunteer Park 1247 15th Ave. E, SeattleFree Summer Concerts at the Volunteer Park Amphitheater from July 13th to August 17th! Over the summer, Volunteer Park Trust is presenting the Summer Series at the Amphitheater, hosting six free shows and performances on Thursday evenings, July 13 to August 17, from 6:00-8:30 pm. Come celebrate with us all summer long! Bring a picnic, […]
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 […]
UW 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 […]
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 […]
Aids Memorial Pathway Tour
Cal Anderson Park 1635 11th Ave, SeattleThe Capitol Hill Historical Society is is excited to announce this opportunity to walk Capitol Hill's AIDS Memorial Pathway with former City Council member Tom Rasmussen.
Spring Restoration Day at Volunteer Park
Volunteer Park 1247 15th Ave. E, SeattleClearing out the invasives at the May cleanup. Courtesy Volunteer Park Trust Come garden with us at Volunteer Park Trust’s Spring Restoration Day on Saturday, April 29. This annual clean-up event is a major community effort to make Volunteer Park more beautiful for everyone. A great activity for kids and families, come join friends and […]
Magnolia 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 […]
Work Party at Cal Anderson Park
Cal Anderson Park 1635 11th Ave, SeattleMeet at NE Entrance Bring gardening equipment (gloves, clippers, rakes, etc.), sun screen and bottled water. We're weeding and mulching the planting beds and edging the walkways. Please RSVP to: susanmnichols@gmail.com
Love in Bloom – Opening Night Party
Washington State Convention Center 705 Pike Street, SeattleA benefit for Washington Park Arboretum February 14, 2023 5 to 9 PM Washington State Convention Center Tickets: Patron $250 ~ Benefactor $500 ~ Table of Ten $2,500 The Northwest Flower & Garden Festival returns to the Convention Center in mid-February, and for the first time since the start of the pandemic, the Arboretum Foundation […]
Walter Willcox: The Man Behind the Walls
The Willcox Wall on Queen Anne is one of its most beloved public landmarks. Its early construction is well documented but the story of its designer, Walter R.B. Willcox, is often shrouded in myth. What inspired him to create this beautiful civic architecture? Architectural historian Marvin Anderson has researched more than 200 letters held by […]
Halloween Pet Parade in Volunteer Park
Volunteer Park 1247 15th Ave. E, SeattleJoin the Volunteer Park Trust for the return of the Halloween Pet Parade – in the NEW amphitheater! We are excited to see the clever costumes and adorable animals. Enter Your Pet in the Costume Competition! Please register at the event. Entry into the costume competition is free. No registration is needed to join the […]
E.B. Dunn Gardens Tour – Sunday, September 18, 2022
E.B. Dunn Gardens 13533 Northshire Road NW, Seattle, United StatesJoin us for an in-person guided tour of the E. B. Dunn Gardens. About the Dunn Gardens tour: Please park on Northshire Road and walk through the white gates to enter the garden. This tour is appropriate for all ages. These walks are free and open to all, and will happen rain or shine. Please […]
Mount Pleasant Cemetery tour on Queen Anne
Mount Pleasant Cemetery 700 West Raye St., Seattle, WAJoin historian Kim Turner and the Queen Anne Historical Society on this tour through the beautiful grounds of Mount Pleasant Cemetery in north Queen Anne. Kim will point out interesting historical sites of early movers and shakers of our city. We will meet at the south entrance to the cemetery at 700 West Raye Street […]
Rainier Beach Neighborhood Tour – Saturday, August 20, 2022
Join us as we explore the Rainier Beach neighborhood! About the Rainier Beach tour: Meet at the NE corner of the intersection of Rainier Beach Avenue and South Henderson Street. The distance is approximately 2.5 miles. The tour will last approximately 2 to 2 1/2 hours. The tour is appropriate for all ages. These walks […]