Meetup: Hyatt Regency at 9th Ave & Howell St at 9:50
Age: 10+ years
Seattle has one of the finest historic park systems in the country, designed in 1903 by the Olmsted Brothers firm of Landscape Architects of Brookline Massachusetts. On this tour you will travel along several 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.
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 Washington Boulevard to Capitol Hill’s Volunteer Park. The 1903 Olmsted Brothers’ report describes the ‘Volunteer Hill Parkway’ as ‘one of the most desirable’ branch parkways that would connect Washington Park with Volunteer Park.
Location: Meet at 19th Avenue East and East Galer Street. On-street parking is available along Galer and 19th
NOTE: This walk will be approximately 2.5 miles in length, traversing long slopes on paved streets and unpaved pathways.
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 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 several months. Learn how these plans came to fruition in this informative walk.
Join 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 uses, the overall effect is timeless — an urban park that honors its historic legacy.
Frederick Law Olmsted Sr. knew that a single large park could not meet the needs of a city; as a result, park systems became a hallmark of the Olmsted legacy. This month as we celebrate the 120 year anniversary of Seattle City Council approving the Olmsted parks plan with a new self-guided tour!
The idea for the Seattle Olmsted 50 trail was hatched February 15 in a Queen Anne coffee shop. Seattle Mountaineers Urban Walk Committee Chair, Peter Hendrickson met with Bob Siegel who offered support for launching a long Seattle walk similar to his work with San Francisco’s Crosstown Trail (17 miles) and support for Boston’s Walking City Trail (27 miles). Hendrickson had previously completed a 25-mile walk through several Olmsted parks with FSOP board member Stuart Johnston, and so linking these park jewels seemed an obvious route for Seattle’s own long urban trail.
With support from Friends of Seattle’s Olmsted Parks tour leader and board member Sue Nicol and the FSOP website reference material, the team began development of the trail from Ballard Locks to Rainier Beach.
The total route is 50km (31 miles), divided into five 10k sections. Each section has comprehensive, field-tested information, including elevation, turn-by-turn directions, accessibility, points of interest – even transit, toilets and treats!
Everything you need to embark can be found on the Seattle Olmsted 50 webpage. If you’d prefer some guidance or some company, the Mountaineers Urban Walk Committee is hosting section walks for members and guests (see the website for more information).
We now have a second self-guided tour script available online! The tour will lead you through Seward Park and introduce you to its historical design, natural features and ongoing cultural events.
Officer’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 will begin and end at Discovery Park’s south parking lot, accessed from West Emerson Street near 43rd Ave. From there, we will loop through the central park of the park and the western bluff. The walk is approximately 2 miles long.
Join us for monthly walking tours in Seattle’s Olmsted parks and start your weekend with a dose of beauty, nature, and history! The tours are FREE, appropriate for all ages and last approximately 2 hours. Contact friends@seattleolmsted.org for more information about specific tours.
All tours start at 10:00 a.m.
May 20th Seward Park Meet at Seward Park Audubon Center.
June 17th Jefferson Park Meet at Jefferson Community Center (south side entrance).
July 15th Green Lake Park Meet at Green Lake Community Center (entrance at northeast corner).
August 19th Hiawatha Playfield Meet on west side of Hiawatha Community Center.
September 16th Washington Park Arboretum Meet at Graham Visitor Center. *This is the FSOP annual meeting, please join us for potluck lunch after the tour.
Hiawatha Park, 1925. Photo by Asahel Curtis. Courtesy Seattle Municipal Archives, 64050.
Join us for monthly walking tours in Seattle’s Olmsted parks and start your weekend with a dose of beauty, nature, and history! They are held on 3rd Saturdays (except August) and begin at 10:00 AM, lasting approximately two hours. Appropriate for all ages. These walks are free and open to all, and go on rain or shine. There is no need to register in advance. Contact friends@seattleolmsted.org for more information about specific tours.
2015 Summer Walking Tour Schedule
May 16th Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition at the University of Washington campus Meet at the entrance to the Burke Museum.
June 20th Washington Park Arboretum Meet at the Graham Visitor Center.
July 18th Madrona Park and Frink Park Meet at Leschi Elementary School parking lot.
September 19th Volunteer Park Meet at the Black Sun sculpture across from the Seattle Asian Art Museum. *This is the FSOP annual meeting, please join us for potluck lunch after the tour.
