Seattle's New Waterfront Park on Pier 58
The Office of the Waterfront and Civic Projects recently announced that they will begin construction on a new waterfront park in Downtown Seattle in late 2022. They estimate that construction will take roughly two years to complete, for a projected completion date in late 2024 or early 2025.
This new waterfront park will be located on Pier 58. This site had a previous waterfront park that was removed last year due to a partial collapse that resulted in structural shifts.
This new waterfront park will be designed as a hub for locals and tourists, alike. The idea is to make this area an inviting and most importantly, safe place to spend time with friends, family, and loved ones. As such, there will be ample outdoor café-style seating so you can enjoy beautiful water views while savoring a cup of local coffee.
The park was designed with families and young children in mind, and as such, there will be a marine-themed playground with fun features like an 18-foot jellyfish-inspired climbing structure and slide with rolling tentacles, kelp-like poles, underwater-inspired climbing elements, and more. This structure was inspired by the ideas of local residents—in addition to providing a fun and imaginative area for kids to play, they are hoping it will encourage a desire to learn about local marine life. On top of that, there will be a large lawn with shady tree groves to provide space to relax, roam, and play.
Additional features include a central event space, an elevated lawn to capture the beautiful Elliott Bay and Olympic Mountain vistas, and a new all-gender public restroom that will be built across from the pier, so you can stay and play all day!
Plus, the existing Waterfront Fountain, a 1974 cast and welded bronze sculpture by James Fitzgerald, Margaret Tompkins, and Terry Copple, will be restored during construction and will be displayed prominently in the new park. Three welcome figures, collectively titles “Family,” will be built by the artist Qwalsius-Shaun Peterson of the Puyallup Tribe, to welcome people to the park as well.
Structurally, the pier will be rebuilt in a triangular shape to maximize space. One of the cool new highlights of this park is that, among its many other purposes, it is also being designed to improve marine habitat. There will be an opening in the pier that will allow more natural light to access the water, which in turn, helps aquatic plants grow and provide food for fish, including our beloved local salmon habitat.
This new park brings a hopeful energy to Downtown Seattle, which feels much-needed as we try to rebuild and revitalize our beautiful city in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s a great step forward in providing local residents with new amenities and areas to spend time. We can’t wait to visit the park once it’s open!
To learn more, please visit Waterfront Seattle’s website.