The described path for a Duwamish Hill Parkway, extending from a point west of the Dumawish River and traveling northward up the east slope of this promontory, includes area that is part of Westcrest Park. The parkway was envisioned as “rising gradually up the steep hillside, winding in and out for ravines and spurs until the gently sloping edge of the plateau is reached.” Olmsted recommended a “reservation” between the lanes of traffic in which “as fully as practicable the wild woods should be preserved.”
In his 1910 report on playgrounds, Olmsted suggested a large park might be located along the hillside in conjunction with the parkway. This was at least partially in response to current interest from the South Park community to develop such a park. He recommended deferring the establishment of a hillside park until the parkway might be designed. Olmsted wrote that, with the development of a “parkway skirting the southern borders of South Park climbing the hillside gradually, . . . it would be a part of that project to provide a hillside park of even more than 40 acres over which to command the views of the Duwamish valley, including South Park.”
This site was originally purchased by the water department in 1917 and once held the city’s highest and single largest reservoir, which was built in 1932. In 1961, negotiations began to acquire “surplus area” for park and recreations purposes. Today the park provides a variety of recreational resources, including wooded nature trails, a play area, off-leash dog area, and viewpoint platform.