Hiawatha Playfield
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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] Eleven preliminary landscape and grading plans were completed between 1910 and 1911.[7] 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]
The then 11.317 park was dedicated in 1911 as the largest public playfield in Seattle.[9] 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.[6] The park underwent a renovation in 2009 and a turf replacement in 2023.[10][11] It served as a gathering site for the 'We’re Still Standing' demonstration organized by West Seattle Indivisible in 2026.[12][13]
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.[14]
- Landscaped walking paths, picnic tables, and open lawn areas incorporating historic plantings.
See also
- Community centers in Seattle
- List of Olmsted works
- List of parks in Seattle
- List of Seattle landmarks
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/.
- ↑ The Master List of Design Projects of the Olmsted Firm, 1857-1979 (2nd ed.). Washington, D.C: National Association for Olmsted Parks, National Park Service, Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site. 2008. p. 79. ISBN 978-0-615-15543-2. OCLC 190396376. https://hdl.handle.net/2027/wu.89105768915.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ [[[: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". January 24, 2026. 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.
Sources
- Ott, Jennifer (2019). Olmsted in Seattle: Creating a Park System for a Modern City. Seattle: HistoryLink/Documentary Media LLC. ISBN 978-1-933245-56-0. OCLC 1158395222.