Lake Union Park is a 12-acre (49,000 m2) park located at the south end of Lake Union in Seattle, Washington in the South Lake Union neighborhood. The park is owned by the City of Seattle and operated by Seattle Parks and Recreation. The park property was gradually acquired by the City, and the final 5 acres (20,000 m2) were transferred from the United States Navy to the City of Seattle on July 1, 2000. After renovation, the current park space officially opened on September 25, 2010.
While the property was acquired by the City for the purpose of providing public park space, it was underutilized for a prolonged period due to a lack of attractive park features. Seattle Parks Foundation attempted to address that issue by conducting a campaign to raise the funds needed to substantially improve the park's facilities. The capital campaign goal was $20 million. In addition, the Seattle City Council appropriated $4.228 million in funds to repair the property's bulkhead and $5 million went to the project from the voter-approved 2000 Pro Parks Levy.
The park design is optimized to provide access to water and green space, connect the surrounding neighborhoods, and celebrate the cultural, industrial, and maritime heritage of the city and region. Lake Union Park includes: restored shoreline, a pedestrian bridge, a model boat pond, a history trail, a fountain of water jets, a beach for launching boats, a footprint for The Center for Wooden Boats' new Education Center (future facility), a grove of trees, a great lawn, footpaths, park benches, and infrastructure that can support large events. Lake Union Park also has a station for the South Lake Union Streetcar, which began operating in late 2007.
Already in the park is a Historic Ships Wharf that houses several historic vessels, including the tug Arthur Foss, the fireboat Duwamish, the lightship Swiftsure, and the steamer Virginia V. Several other large historic vessels visit the wharf, including the Hawaiian Chieftain and the Lady Washington, which was featured in movies such as Pirates of the Caribbean.
The property has several buildings, the largest of which is the former Naval Reserve building, colloquially called the Armory. The Armory is currently being remodeled as the new home of MOHAI, the Museum of History and Industry, which has leased the space for 55 years.
Office space in the Armory was occupied by Seattle Parks and Recreation and several nonprofit groups, including Center for Wooden Boats, the Virginia V, Seattle Parks Foundation, and Associated Recreation Council until early 2011, at which point renovations began to make it the new site of the Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI). The new MOHAI is scheduled to open December 29, 2012.
Famous quotes containing the words lake, union and/or park:
“Such were the first rude beginnings of a town. They spoke of the practicability of a winter road to the Moosehead Carry, which would not cost much, and would connect them with steam and staging and all the busy world. I almost doubted if the lake would be there,—the self-same lake,—preserve its form and identity, when the shores should be cleared and settled; as if these lakes and streams which explorers report never awaited the advent of the citizen.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“One thing that makes art different from life is that in art things have a shape ... it allows us to fix our emotions on events at the moment they occur, it permits a union of heart and mind and tongue and tear.”
—Marilyn French (b. 1929)
“The park is filled with night and fog,
The veils are drawn about the world,”
—Sara Teasdale (1884–1933)