6 a.m. - 10 p.m.

Water Tower hours: 10 a.m. - Dusk

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Amenities

Art in the Park Gardens Drinking fountains Trails Play Area Tennis Courts Restrooms Wading Pools

About

Located in the heart of Seattle, Volunteer Park is home to the Volunteer Park Conservatory and the Seattle Asian Art Museum.  The Landmarks Preservation Board designated Volunteer Park as a Seattle Landmark on November 2, 2011. This historic Olmsted Park is beloved by residents and visitors alike. In addition to the park's permanent landscaping, from July through the first frost beautiful dahlias bloom in abundance, thanks to the the efforts of the Puget Sound Dahlia Association, whose members have been planting them each year since 1984.

Find out more about the renovation and expansion that took place between 2018 and 2020 in the museums project archives.

History

In 1876 the City purchased 40 acres for $2,000 from a sawmill engineer, J. M. Colman (Colman Park) without specifying purpose other than "municipal."

Ordinance 642 in 1885 defined the purpose as "Washelli Cemetery" but two years later it was changed to "Lake View Park" and gravesites were ordered removed. By 1893, the Department had cleared about six acres of timber and planted a nursery supplemented with a greenhouse and hotbed.

Between 1887 and 1904 the park was improved with paths, lawns, beds of flowers, settees and tables for picnickers, and children's swings, together with native growth, the only greenhouse in the system, and the high pressure reservoir. 1904-1909 the Olmsted Brothers prepared formal plans - gardens system of macadam drives, lily ponds, children's wading pool and shelter, combination pergola, music pavilion and comfort station, and conservatory building - all completed by 1912.

Parks and Recreation

AP Diaz, Superintendent
Mailing Address: 100 Dexter Ave N, Seattle, WA, 98109
Phone: (206) 684-4075
Fax: (206) 615-1813
pks_info@seattle.gov

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