Weather Watch Park

About

This tiny (135 feet long!) park has artwork that is so fun to look at that it competes with the glorious view the spot affords of Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains. The park includes a curved concrete bench inlaid with a bronze relief map of Olympic peaks, a triangular column that carries historic photographic images and has a weather vane on top, a sundial, and a half-moon area paved with over 500 bricks engraved with short expressions and the names of area residents, including early settlers. Stone stairs and a woodchip path lead down to the rocky beach.

Weather Watch Park is technically a Seattle street end. In 1907, the site was a ferry dock for the mosquito fleet. When service was discontinued in 1920, the dock was dismantled and the site became a vacant lot. Some rubble and a large supply of coarse woody debris accumulated on the site.. In 1989, local artist Lezlie Jane worked with the Alki Community Council and nearby neighbors to apply for a Neighborhood Matching Fund award to create this art-filled pocket park between 1990 and 1991.

The volunteers began by removing rubble that had accumulated on site over the course of 70 years when it was a vacant lot. The bank was reinforced with several large rocks. The woody debris that had accumulated naturally in the pocket beach was left in place. Once the bank was cleaned up, the project included extensive revegetation and new paths down to the beach.

Lezlie Jane and the community went on to design and create nearby Cormorant Cove and Constellation Park and Marine Reserve at Charles Richey Sr. Viewpoint.