Location: West Seattle
Address: 35th Ave S.W. and S.W. Alaska St.
Acreage: 0.2
Rotary Viewpoint in West Seattle is best known as being the scene of the Great Totem Pole Theft of 2009.
West Seattle residents followed this caper closely on the West Seattle Blog, which helped to crack the case as it unfolded late last year. They reported that eyewitnesses saw someone pull up in a huge flat bed truck with a crane one night and start to load the 18-foot-tall pole. The truck got stuck in some mud and needed a tow truck to get unstuck. But, nobody questioned the person towing away this piece of Seattle history that was carved by Robin Young.
It was eventually found in Oregon, and a person was arrested.
Unfortunately, you still won’t see the totem pole back in its place yet. The West Seattle Rotary, which helped fix up this park in the 1970s, is taking donations to help get it restored and back in its rightful place.
What you will find at this park is a peek-a-boo view of downtown Seattle. Not nearly as exciting as a stolen totem pole.
#149 (Visited 4/8/10)