Jump to content

Hiawatha Playfield: Difference between revisions

From IdeaWazaWiki
← Older editNewer edit →

wikipedia>Peaceray

+
Added "Hendrickson 2026" & |last=Eals |first=Clay
Line 19: Line 19:
}}
}}


'''Hiawatha Playfield and Community Center''' (formerly '''West Seattle Playfield''')<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hendrickson |first=Peter |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Emerald_City_Trail/k4z8EQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Hiawatha+playfield&pg=PT196&printsec=frontcover |title=Emerald City Trail: A Walking Guide Through Seattle & Our Olmsted History |date=2026-09-01 |publisher=Mountaineers Books |isbn=978-1-68051-888-7 |language=en}}</ref> is a 10.3-acre public park and recreation center in the [[Admiral District, Seattle|Admiral District]] of [[West Seattle]], [[Seattle]], Washington.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Commissioners |first=Seattle (Wash ) Park |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Report/wfU4AQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22Hiawatha+playfield%22&pg=PA39&printsec=frontcover |title=Report |date=1912 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form |url=https://dahp.wa.gov/sites/default/files/WA_KingCounty_SeattleOlmstedParks_MPD_FINAL.pdf |publisher=United States Department of the Interior (National Park Service)}}</ref> Designed by the [[Olmsted Brothers]] and dedicated in 1911,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-06-01 |title=At West Seattle's groundbreaking Hiawatha Playfield, the trees are key |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/pacific-nw-magazine/at-west-seattles-groundbreaking-hiawatha-playfield-the-trees-are-key/ |access-date=2026-09-12 |website=The Seattle Times |language=en-US}}</ref> Hiawatha is recognized as the oldest municipal community center building west of the [[Mississippi River]].<ref name="seattlegov">{{cite web |title=Hiawatha Community Center |url=https://www.seattle.gov/parks/community-centers/hiawatha-community-center |publisher=Seattle Parks and Recreation |access-date=2026-08-18}}</ref> The site was designated an official Seattle Landmark in 1984.<ref name="olmsted">{{cite web |title=Hiawatha Playfield |url=https://seattleolmsted.org/parks/hiawatha-playfield/ |publisher=Friends of Seattle's Olmsted Parks |access-date=2026-08-18}}</ref>
'''Hiawatha Playfield and Community Center''' (formerly '''West Seattle Playfield''')<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hendrickson |first=Peter |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Emerald_City_Trail/k4z8EQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Hiawatha+playfield&pg=PT196&printsec=frontcover |title=Emerald City Trail: A Walking Guide Through Seattle & Our Olmsted History |date=2026-09-01 |publisher=Mountaineers Books |isbn=978-1-68051-888-7 |language=en}}</ref> is a 10.3-acre public park and recreation center in the [[Admiral District, Seattle|Admiral District]] of [[West Seattle]], [[Seattle]], Washington.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Commissioners |first=Seattle (Wash ) Park |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Report/wfU4AQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22Hiawatha+playfield%22&pg=PA39&printsec=frontcover |title=Report |date=1912 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form |url=https://dahp.wa.gov/sites/default/files/WA_KingCounty_SeattleOlmstedParks_MPD_FINAL.pdf |publisher=United States Department of the Interior (National Park Service)}}</ref> Designed by the [[Olmsted Brothers]] and dedicated in 1911,<ref name="Hendrickson 2026">{{cite book |last=Hendrickson |first=Peter |title=Emerald City trail: a walking guide through Seattle and our Olmsted history |publisher=Mountaineers Books |publication-place=Seattle, WA |year=2026 |isbn=978-1-68051-888-7 |oclc=1609782912 |pages=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Eals |first=Clay |date=2023-06-01 |title=At West Seattle's groundbreaking Hiawatha Playfield, the trees are key |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/pacific-nw-magazine/at-west-seattles-groundbreaking-hiawatha-playfield-the-trees-are-key/ |access-date=2026-09-12 |newspaper=The Seattle Times}}</ref> Hiawatha is recognized as the oldest municipal community center building west of the [[Mississippi River]].<ref name="seattlegov">{{cite web |title=Hiawatha Community Center |url=https://www.seattle.gov/parks/community-centers/hiawatha-community-center |publisher=Seattle Parks and Recreation |access-date=2026-08-18}}</ref> The site was designated an official Seattle Landmark in 1984.<ref name="olmsted">{{cite web |title=Hiawatha Playfield |url=https://seattleolmsted.org/parks/hiawatha-playfield/ |publisher=Friends of Seattle's Olmsted Parks |access-date=2026-08-18}}</ref>


Hiawatha Playfield is located along California Avenue SW, immediately north of [[West Seattle High School]] and within walking distance of the Admiral District commercial core.<ref name="seattlegov" />
Hiawatha Playfield is located along California Avenue SW, immediately north of [[West Seattle High School]] and within walking distance of the Admiral District commercial core.<ref name="seattlegov" />

Revision as of 16:35, 12 September 2026

This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedia's deletion policy.
Please share your thoughts on the matter at this article's entry on the Articles for deletion page.
Feel free to edit the article, but the article must not be blanked, and this notice must not be removed, until the discussion is closed. For more information, particularly on merging or moving the article during the discussion, read the Guide to deletion.

Steps to list an article for deletion:

  1. {{afd}}
  2. {{afd2|pg=Hiawatha Playfield|cat=|text=}} ~~~~ (categories)
  3. {{afd3|pg=Hiawatha Playfield and Community Center}} (add to top of list)
  4. Please consider notifying the author(s) by placing {{adw|Hiawatha Playfield|Hiawatha Playfield and Community Center}} ~~~~ on their talk page(s).

Unregistered users placing this tag on an article cannot complete the deletion nomination and should leave detailed reasons for deletion on Talk:Hiawatha Playfield. If the nomination is not completed and no message is left on the talkpage, this tag may be removed.

Template:Short description Template:Infobox park

Hiawatha Playfield and Community Center (formerly West Seattle Playfield)[1] is a 10.3-acre public park and recreation center in the Admiral District of West Seattle, Seattle, Washington.[2][3] Designed by the Olmsted Brothers and dedicated in 1911,[4][5] Hiawatha is recognized as the oldest municipal community center building west of the Mississippi River.[6] The site was designated an official Seattle Landmark in 1984.[7]

Hiawatha Playfield is located along California Avenue SW, immediately north of West Seattle High School and within walking distance of the Admiral District commercial core.[6]

History

Hiawatha Playfield wading pool, 1912

Following the 1907 annexation of West Seattle, landscape architecture firm Olmsted Brothers recommended acquiring a 10.3-acre tract of second-growth forest in their 1908 park system expansion report.[7] The preliminary landscape and grading plans were completed between 1910 and 1911. Originally referred to as the West Seattle Playfield, Park Commissioner Ferdinand Schmitz proposed naming the park after the hero of Longfellow's poem The Song of Hiawatha.[8]

Dedicated in 1911 as the largest public playfield in Seattle at the time, Hiawatha was praised as a model recreation center in the Pacific Northwest.[8] During World War II, the facility was temporarily repurposed by the War Department to quarter military officers and house troops in tents on the lawn.[8] In 1948, Seattle voters passed a bond issue that funded the remodeling of the field house and the addition of a full-size gymnasium, which reopened in 1949.[8]

In 1984, the playfield and community center complex were designated a City of Seattle Landmark.[7] The park underwent a renovation in 2009 and a turf replacement in 2023.[9][10] It served as a gathering site for the 'We’re Still Standing' demonstration organized by West Seattle Indivisible in 2026.[11]

Facilities and features

Hiawatha Community Center, 2008

The park and community center offer a wide range of recreational amenities:

Community Center

  • Top floor: Features an auditorium and stage, along with a galley kitchenette.[6]
  • Main floor: Contains multi-purpose rooms for child care, youth programming, and classes.[6]
  • Lower level: Houses a full-size gymnasium utilized for adult and youth sports (such as table tennis, basketball, and volleyball), toddler playtimes, and community athletic leagues, alongside fitness facilities.[6]

Playfield

  • Full-sized synthetic athletic fields for soccer, football, and baseball, complete with an all-weather running track (jointly used with adjacent West Seattle High School).[6]
  • Outdoor tennis courts.
  • Children's playground and seasonal wading pool.[12]
  • Landscaped walking paths, picnic tables, and open lawn areas incorporating historic plantings.

See also

Portal Washington (state) portal


References

  1. ↑ Hendrickson, Peter (2026-09-01) (in en). Emerald City Trail: A Walking Guide Through Seattle & Our Olmsted History. Mountaineers Books. ISBN 978-1-68051-888-7. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Emerald_City_Trail/k4z8EQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Hiawatha+playfield&pg=PT196&printsec=frontcover. 
  2. ↑ Commissioners, Seattle (Wash ) Park (1912) (in en). Report. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Report/wfU4AQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22Hiawatha+playfield%22&pg=PA39&printsec=frontcover. 
  3. ↑ "National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form". United States Department of the Interior (National Park Service). https://dahp.wa.gov/sites/default/files/WA_KingCounty_SeattleOlmstedParks_MPD_FINAL.pdf. 
  4. ↑ Hendrickson, Peter (2026). Emerald City trail: a walking guide through Seattle and our Olmsted history. Seattle, WA: Mountaineers Books. ISBN 978-1-68051-888-7. OCLC 1609782912. 
  5. ↑ Eals, Clay (2023-06-01). "At West Seattle's groundbreaking Hiawatha Playfield, the trees are key". The Seattle Times. https://www.seattletimes.com/pacific-nw-magazine/at-west-seattles-groundbreaking-hiawatha-playfield-the-trees-are-key/. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 "Hiawatha Community Center". Seattle Parks and Recreation. https://www.seattle.gov/parks/community-centers/hiawatha-community-center. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "Hiawatha Playfield". Friends of Seattle's Olmsted Parks. https://seattleolmsted.org/parks/hiawatha-playfield/. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 "Hiawatha Playfield History File". Seattle Municipal Archives. https://www.seattle.gov/documents/Departments/CityArchive/Sherwood/HiawathaPF.pdf. 
  9. ↑ "Hiawatha Turf Playfield is open" (in en). https://www.westsideseattle.com/robinson-papers/2009/12/19/hiawatha-turf-playfield-open. 
  10. ↑ "FOLLOWUP: Hiawatha Playfield reopening after turf replacement" (in en-US). https://westseattleblog.com/2023/09/followup-hiawatha-playfield-reopening-after-turf-replacement/. 
  11. ↑ "WEEKEND PREVIEW: 'We're Still Standing' march and rally in West Seattle on Saturday" (in en-US). https://westseattleblog.com/2026/01/weekend-preview-were-still-standing-march-and-rally-in-west-seattle-on-saturday/. 
  12. ↑ Volk, David (2013-11-05) (in en). Cheap Bastard's® Guide to Seattle: Secrets of Living the Good Life—for Less!. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4930-0658-8. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Cheap_Bastard_s_Guide_to_Seattle/KLKsAgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Hiawatha+playfield&pg=PA257&printsec=frontcover. 

Template:Commons category

Template:West Seattle, Seattle

Retrieved from "https://ideawaza.com/index.php?title=Hiawatha_Playfield&oldid=83591"