Fhelsing's Fotothing

Visiting Jim Ellis Freeway Park --- #11 of 15
Seattle, Washington
Sunday, July 18, 2010

I first heard about Freeway Park when I read an article about it in "Pacific Horticulture" magazine several years ago. There was an elevated pedestrian bridge connecting the Convention Center with First Hill, which arched over the Interstate 5 freeway and a huge city-owned parking lot.

This bridge was a real eyesore, so Jim Ellis and others decided to turn it into a pedestrian parkway. Since people needed to walk on it anyway, why not make it look nice?

It was made into quite a large park, 5.2 acres (21,000 square meters), and was opened to the public on July 4, 1976.

These concrete fountains were all over the park. At one end of the park, you could wander along a series of ramps and follow a cascade of these fountains down the hill, an amazing walk!