Kinnear Park Historical Marker

Established in the 1890s, Kinnear Park was designed by Edward O. Schwagerl, Seattle’s Superintendent of Parks, on the western edge of the Queen Anne neighborhood. Prior to the period of European settlement, this land was long occupied by the Duwamish tribe of the Coast Salish people, who used it as a wintering ground. By the turn of the 20th century, a lily pond, bridge, and bike path were added to the new city park. The Olmstead Brothers, a renowned Massachusetts landscape architecture firm, visited the park in 1903 and recommended that the city improve the site by enhancing its unique, natural features, including its varied elevation, embankments, and native trees. In the 1940s, new amenities were added, including a tennis court, comfort station, and service building. A historical marker, installed near the southeast entrance to the park, provides an overview the landscape and reminds visitors: “You are now a part of history.”

Prior to the era of European settlement, the Duwamish tribe of the Coast Salish people had a presence in this area. When white settlers began to arrive in the mid-19^th century, the Duwamish were occupying several large winter villages on the bay during the colder moths. They had a winter site on one of the many forested hills overlooking Elliott Bay, in the area that later became known as Seattle’s Queen Anne neighborhood. On the western rim of this neighborhood, Kinnear Park was established in the 1890s through a donation of land to the city by George and Angie C. Kinnear, a white pioneering family. George Kinnear acquired his fortune through real estate development, and the 14-acre parcel became the second park in Seattle.

From 1893 to 1895, Kinnear Park was designed by the landscape architect Edward O. Schwagerl, Seattle's Superintendent of Parks. While the park was being established, a lily pond and bridge were created in 1894, although the bridge was eventually removed, and the pond was filled in. In 1896, a Bicycle Path was proposed by George Cotterill, an assistant city engineer who later served as the Mayor of Seattle. Convinced that a bike path would attract new visitors to the park and the city, Cotterill organized a group of volunteers to create twenty-five miles of bike paths throughout Seattle. This effectively connected Kinnear Park with downtown and adjacent neighborhoods, while increasing access to the park and linking it with the rest of the city.

After visiting the park in 1903, the Olmsted Brothers, a renowned Massachusetts-based landscape architecture firm, produced a report with recommendations to improve the park. These included the addition of a stone seating wall, which still exists today along West Olympic Place. Favoring a naturalistic style of landscape design, the Olmsted Brothers also recommended that the city enhance the park's unique, natural features, so that it would appear distinct from Seattle’s other parks. Such features included varied elevation, high embankments, glacial boulders, maples and other deciduous trees, as well as fir trees and other evergreens.

In the 1940s, the park's amenities were upgraded. A tennis court, comfort station, and service building were added, increasing visitation in the mid-20th century. By the 1970s, the "Saturday in the Park" concert series was sponsored by the Queen Anne Historical Society, drawing Seattle residents for relaxing outdoor musical performances. Today, Kinnear Park continues to maintain a bike path while offering views of Elliott Bay. From certain vantage points, the park's waterfront includes grain elevators located at Pier 86, where vessels load and unload cargo. Near the park's southeast entrance, a historical marker installed by the Seattle Parks and Recreation Department provides an overview the landscape and reminds visitors: “You are now a part of history.”

Halvorsen, Douglass. "You're Now A Part of History", Historical Marker Database. January 18th, 2018. Accessed July 27th, 2023. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=112940.

"Kinnear Park", City of Seattle. Accessed July 27th, 2023. https://www.seattle.gov/parks/allparks/kinnear-park.

"Kinnear Park", Friends of Seattle's Olmsted Parks. Accessed July 27th, 2023. https://seattleolmsted.org/parks/kinnear-park/#.

Lentz, Florence K., and Sheridan, Mimi. "Queen Anne Historic Context Statement", City of Seattle. October 1st, 2005. Accessed July 27th, 2023. https://www.seattle.gov/documents/Departments/Neighborhoods/HistoricPreservation/HistoricResourcesSurvey/context-queen-anne.pdf.