Volunteer Park is a 48.3 acre (195,000 m²)
parkA park is a protected area, in its natural or semi-natural state, or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas. Many parks are legally protected by...
in the
Capitol HillCapitol Hill is the most densely populated residential district in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the center of the city's gay and counterculture communities, and is one of the city's most prominent nightlife and entertainment districts....
neighborhood of
SeattleSeattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
,
USAThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
History
Volunteer Park was acquired by the city of Seattle for $2,000 in 1876 from J.M. Colman. In 1885 it was designated a
cemeteryA cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
, but two years later it was named "Lake View Park," and the cemetery was developed on an adjacent plot of land
(see Lake View CemeteryLake View Cemetery is a cemetery located on Seattle, Washington, Capitol Hill just north of Volunteer Park. It is named for its view of Lake Washington to the east. It was founded in 1873 as the Seattle Masonic Cemetery.-Notable interments:...
). The park then became known as "City Park." In 1901, it was renamed "Volunteer Park" to honor the volunteers who served in the
Spanish-American WarThe Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
.
J. Willis SayreJ. Willis Sayre was an American theatre critic, journalist, arts promoter, and historian. A longtime resident of Seattle, Washington, Sayre was an influential figure in writing and conserving the history of theatre in Seattle.-Personal life:He was born James Willis Sayre in Washington, D.C...
, a Seattle theatre critic, journalist, and historian, who had fought in the war, had actively lobbied local officials to rename this park. From 1904 to 1909, the
Olmsted BrothersThe Olmsted Brothers company was an influential landscape design firm in the United States, formed in 1898 by stepbrothers John Charles Olmsted and Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. .-History:...
prepared formal plans for the park.
Features
The park includes a
conservatoryThe Volunteer Park Conservatory is a botanical garden and conservatory located in Seattle, Washington, at the north end of Volunteer Park on Capitol Hill....
(a designated city landmark), completed in 1912; a
water towerA water tower or elevated water tower is a large elevated drinking water storage container constructed to hold a water supply at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system....
with an observation deck, built by the Water Department in 1906, a fenced-off
reservoirA reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...
; the dramatic
Art decoArt deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
building of the
Seattle Asian Art MuseumThe Seattle Asian Art Museum is a museum of Asian art located inside Volunteer Park on Seattle, Washington USA's Capitol Hill. Part of the Seattle Art Museum, SAAM occupies the 1933 Art Moderne building which was originally home to the Seattle Art Museum's main collection...
(a designated city landmark); a statue of
William H. SewardWilliam Henry Seward, Sr. was the 12th Governor of New York, United States Senator and the United States Secretary of State under Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson...
; and a
sculptureSculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
,
Black SunBlack Sun is a 1969 sculpture by Isamu Noguchi located in Seattle, Washington's Volunteer Park. The statue is situated on the eastern edge of the park's man-made reservoir, across from the Seattle Asian Art Museum...
, by
Isamu Noguchiwas a prominent Japanese American artist and landscape architect whose artistic career spanned six decades, from the 1920s onward. Known for his sculpture and public works, Noguchi also designed stage sets for various Martha Graham productions, and several mass-produced lamps and furniture pieces,...
(colloquially referred to as "The Doughnut") around which a scenic view of the Seattle skyline that prominently includes the
Space NeedleThe Space Needle is a tower in Seattle, Washington and is a major landmark of the Pacific Northwest region of the United States and a symbol of Seattle. Located at the Seattle Center, it was built for the 1962 World's Fair, during which time nearly 20,000 people a day used the elevators, with over...
can be seen, as well as several meadows and picnic tables. The wading pool is operational in the summer months and operated daily from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Events
Seattle's annual Pride parade used to end at Volunteer Park, where the crowd met various musical guests, sponsoring organizations, and vendors. In 2006, the Parade was relocated to Downtown and the Pride Festival was moved to the
Seattle CenterSeattle Center is a park and arts and entertainment center in Seattle, Washington. The campus is the site used in 1962 by the Century 21 Exposition. It is located just north of Belltown in the Lower Queen Anne neighborhood.-Attractions:...
, home of the
Space NeedleThe Space Needle is a tower in Seattle, Washington and is a major landmark of the Pacific Northwest region of the United States and a symbol of Seattle. Located at the Seattle Center, it was built for the 1962 World's Fair, during which time nearly 20,000 people a day used the elevators, with over...
.
The park also hosts various free concerts and outdoor theater events throughout the summer.
External links