Victor Steinbrueck Park

About

Victor Steinbrueck Park is located at the north end of Pike Place Market Historical District. On a summer afternoon, the park bustles with a lively combination of neighborhood residents, visitors, tourists, and people who work in the area - all enjoying the view, picnics, sunbathing, playing and relaxing on the park's lawn, benches, and tables.

Victor Steinbrueck Park is on a site just to the south of what was once the Washington State National Guard Armory built around 1909. Partially destroyed in a fire in 1962, the City of Seattle bought the Armory in 1968 to tear it down as part of the Pike Plaza Urban Renewal Project. A group of Seattle architects opposed plans to demolish the Armory, but the Seattle City Council decided to scrap it rather than repair it for new uses. Two years later the neighboring property transferred to the jurisdiction of the Parks Department for "temporary park purposes." UW professors Victor Steinbrueck and Rich Haag designed the new "Market Park", which opened in 1982. Two 50-foot cedar totem poles were added in 1984. In 1985, Market Park was renamed Victor Steinbrueck Park in honor of Steinbrueck's contributions to Seattle and to the restoration of Pike Place Market. The park was added to the Pike Place Market Historical District in 1986 per City ordinance 113199. 

In 2008, Seattle voters passed a levy that included funds to renovate the park. By 2016, it was determined that the waterproofing membrane on the westerly portion of the park between the parking garage below and the park was failing.  Additionally, park improvements were needed to connect the park to the renovated waterfront.  The park closed for a couple years for this project and reopened in 2025. The totem poles were removed for the park renovations and will be reinstalled in 2026 after extensive restoration.

Current Project

Victor Steinbrueck Park Park Improvements (park reopened March 2025)