Hiawatha Playfield: Difference between revisions
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|File:Hiawatha Playfield in 1913.png|Hiawatha Playfield in 1913<ref>{{cite journal |last=Cotterill |first=Roland |title=Practical Types of Recreation Building |journal=Park and Cemetery and Landscape Gardening |volume=23 |issue=3 |date=May 1913 |page=[https://hdl.handle.net/2027/coo.31924066365101?urlappend=%3Bseq=140%3Bownerid=120249281-150 76]}}</ref> | |File:Hiawatha Playfield in 1913.png|Hiawatha Playfield in 1913<ref>{{cite journal |last=Cotterill |first=Roland |title=Practical Types of Recreation Building |journal=Park and Cemetery and Landscape Gardening |volume=23 |issue=3 |date=May 1913 |page=[https://hdl.handle.net/2027/coo.31924066365101?urlappend=%3Bseq=140%3Bownerid=120249281-150 76]}}</ref> | ||
Revision as of 04:05, 13 September 2026
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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,[1][4] Hiawatha is recognized as the oldest municipal community center building west of the Mississippi River.[5] The site was designated an official Seattle Landmark in 1984.[6]
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.[5]
History
Template:Gallery 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.[6] 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.[7]
The then 11.317 park was dedicated in 1911 as the largest public playfield in Seattle.[8] Hiawatha was praised as a model recreation center in the Pacific Northwest.[7] 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.[7] 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.[7]
In 1984, the playfield and community center complex were designated a City of Seattle Landmark.[6] 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][12]
Facilities and features
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.[5]
- Main floor: Contains multi-purpose rooms for child care, youth programming, and classes.[5]
- 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.[5]
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).[5]
- Outdoor tennis courts.
- Children's playground and seasonal wading pool.[13]
- Landscaped walking paths, picnic tables, and open lawn areas incorporating historic plantings.
See also
- Community centers in Seattle
- List of landmarks in Seattle
- List of Olmsted works
- List of parks in Seattle
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Hendrickson, Peter (2026). Emerald City Trail: A Walking Guide Through Seattle & Our Olmsted History. Seattle, WA: Mountaineers Books. ISBN 978-1-68051-888-7. OCLC 1609782912. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Emerald_City_Trail/k4z8EQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Hiawatha+playfield&pg=PT196&printsec=frontcover.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ 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/.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 "Hiawatha Community Center". Seattle Parks and Recreation. https://www.seattle.gov/parks/community-centers/hiawatha-community-center.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Hiawatha Playfield". Friends of Seattle's Olmsted Parks. https://seattleolmsted.org/parks/hiawatha-playfield/.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 "Hiawatha Playfield History File". Seattle Municipal Archives. https://www.seattle.gov/documents/Departments/CityArchive/Sherwood/HiawathaPF.pdf.
- ↑ [[[:Template:GBurl]] Tenth Annual Report of the Board of Park Commissioners]. Seattle, WA: Board of Park Commissioners. 1913. p. [[[:Template:GBurl]] 54]. Template:GBurl.
- ↑ "Hiawatha Turf Playfield is open" (in en). https://www.westsideseattle.com/robinson-papers/2009/12/19/hiawatha-turf-playfield-open.
- ↑ "FOLLOWUP: Hiawatha Playfield reopening after turf replacement" (in en-US). https://westseattleblog.com/2023/09/followup-hiawatha-playfield-reopening-after-turf-replacement/.
- ↑ "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/.
- ↑ "Minneapolis shooting fuels anti-ICE protests across Seattle area". KING-TV. https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/minneapolis-shooting-anti-ice-protests-seattle/281-3f8af449-c9fe-4b60-b5bb-edcc8f7f7a13.
- ↑ 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.