Nestled in the private property of Lakeview Cemetery in Seattle, Washington, the United Confederate Veterans Memorial sat for nearly 100 years for all to see. With a history laced with racial tension, this monument has been a topic of controversy for Seattleites. Built from stone from the Ku Klux Klan’s Stone Mountain, the monument stands with the ideas of The Lost Cause, which is the idea that has been adopted by modern society that believes that slavery was benevolent and of benefit to Black and white people. Stone Mountain was the site of the first cross burning by the Ku Klux Klan in the twenty-first century by the first grand wizard, William Joseph Simmons. The stone was then purchased, sculpted, and placed by the Daughters of the Confederacy. The memorial was built in 1926 in Seattle by veterans who immigrated to the state of Washington to commemorate the Confederate soldiers who lost their lives during and after the Civil War. The United Confederate Veterans Memorial has always been under scrutiny and has been defaced and pushed for removal for decades. Over the recent years, as racial tensions rise, the United Confederate Veterans Memorial has been targeted for removal and was toppled in July, 2020 following the protests of George Floyd’s death.
Bruce Lee died at the height of his fame in 1973, a month before what would become his best-known film, Enter The Dragon, was released. The Hong-Kong-born martial artist and film superstar chose Seattle for his final resting place, and here his remains are interred, alongside his son Brandon’s, at Lake View Cemetery, north of Volunteer Park on Capitol Hill.
This site is the grave of Mary Elizabeth “Lizzie” Ordway who died on September 11th, 1897 at 69 years old. After moving to Seattle with ten other women known as the Mercer Girls, she was the only one of them who did not marry and is considered Seattle's first career woman. She was a teacher, the founder of Seattle’s first public school, a superintendent, and an active member of the County Education Board. Ordway fought for women's rights and, along with Susan B. Anthony, was the founder of Seattle’s Female Suffrage Society. Lizzie Ordway, the Mercer Girls, and many other women around the nation, changed education from a privilege of the elite, to a right of the people.
Built in 1912, this Victorian-style greenhouse was designed by the Hitchings Company of New York. After the City of Seattle ordered a conservatory kit from the company, plans and materials were sent across the country by train. The conservatory was assembled in the north end of Volunteer Park, opening in 1912 with much public fanfare. Housing an extensive collection of plant life from around the world, visitors today can still enjoy the bromeliads, ferns, palms, cacti, chrysanthemums, and tropical bird-of-paradise plants. Since 1980, the Friends of the Conservatory have overseen efforts to preserve the structure, which is largely still intact, and the Carnegie Steel framework bears the original manufacturer's marks. As of 2023, a campaign is underway to preserve the 1912 Lunette window above the main entrance, as well as the adjacent decorative green etched-glass panels created in 1981 by the artist Richard Spaulding.
The Parker-Fersen Mansion, designed by architect Frederick Sexton in 1908, is to this day one of the most extravagant residences in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood on acclaimed street, ‘Millionaire’s Row’. Bordering Volunteer Park, the home was originally owned by a local businessman turned prisoner, George H. Parker who was arrested for his role in a financial embezzlement scheme. Parker lived there with his wife Evvie and their four children. When Parker died in a fishing accident, Evvie Parker sold the home to a Russian baron, and oldest son of Russian Empress Maria Alexandrovna, Eugene Fersen. Fersen used the property as headquarters for his religious organization “The Lightbearers” that he created in Russia after his estates in St. Petersburg were seized by the Bolsheviks. The mansion’s grandeur attracted Fersen with its grand columns and balconies overlooking the Park. In 1987, the mansion was sold to David and Ruth Walsh McIntyre whose goal was to reinstate the historic estate’s original design after Fersen covered its wall with a glued on cheap red velvet: an ode to Russian royalty. After much construction and design, the McIntyre’s were able to renovate the mansion to appear as similar to its original layout and design as possible.
Completed in 1907, this brick water tower is located in the southeast corner of Seattle's Volunteer Park, which evolved from an earlier city park through recommendations made by the Olmsted Brothers firm in 1903. As one of the park's signature landmarks, the 76-foot tower sits on top of Capitol Hill at a total elevation of 520 feet. The tower encloses an 883,000-gallon steel standpipe installed as part of the city's Cedar River Water System following the establishment of a reservoir on Capitol Hill in 1901. An interior stairway spirals up to the tower's observation deck, which offers panoramic views of Elliot Bay, the Olympic Mountains, Puget Sound, and downtown Seattle to the southwest, as well as Lake Washington and Bellevue to the east. Included in the listing for Volunteer Park and Seattle's early 20th-century water system infrastructure, the tower was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
Built in 1913, the Shafer-Baillie Mansion honors two early owners, Alexander Baillie and Julius Shafer. Shafer along with his wife purchased the historic landmark in 1928 and raised their family at the exceptional and extraordinaire property for twenty-five years. The Shafer-Baillie Mansion has gone through multiple owners and corresponding remodels and today is a luxurious bed and breakfast representing much of its original elegance, grand, and luxurious style. The rich heritage is characterized in the individual guest rooms and now is used as an event venue.
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This 48-acre park is located in Seattle’s Capitol Hill Neighborhood, just north of the city’s downtown. Originally developed in the late 19th century, the park continues to be a primary urban green space in the city. Offering a museum, Victorian conservatory, walking paths, playgrounds, and numerous recreational opportunities, the park is a historical feature, city landmark, and attraction hotspot.
