Location: South Seattle/Beacon Hill
Address: 4165 16th Ave. S
Acreage: 52.4
For those of you have been waiting patiently for construction to end at Jefferson Park on Beacon Hill, the fencing (well, most of it) has finally come down. The first phase of the park’s extensive renovations are finished, and it was worth the wait.
The fabulous new playground includes unique climbing structures for older and younger kids. You’ll find wonderful new trails that loop back and forth along the top of the small hill that provides nice views of downtown Seattle.
Unfortunately, construction will still be a common sight at this popular park while more improvements are made over the next year or so. But, if you can put up with some fencing still blocking your views, some very cool things are in store…
The next phases include some playfield improvements like lighting, but more exciting is the construction of a new skate park, something much-needed in this part of Seattle. The city will break ground on that next spring.
There are also plans to build an impressively titled Beacon Mountain, which is being described as an “ecologically oriented playscape.” I can’t wait to check it out when it’s constructed in 2011.
Jefferson Park was intended to be a cemetery and was named in 1908 after the Thomas Jefferson. Luckily, it was instead turned into a park with dozens of recreational features, including a golf course, tennis courts, lawn bowling, cricket fields, basketball courts and a community center.
And, if you’ve never experienced lawn bowling… this is a great place to give it a try.
#221 (Visited 9/24/10)