Park preview (Image: Friends of FedRep)
Don’t get too excited. The last few times we went through this we ended up with (the very lovely and skateboard-y but not so prettily named) Summit Slope Park and the myth-extending Seven Hills Park. But, hey, at leaset we avoided the whole Perugia Park thing.
Apparently deeming what we’ve been calling it — FedRep Park — not good ‘nuf, Seattle Parks has expanded a call for suggested names for the next new Capitol Hill park to be located at the intersection of Federal and Republican.
The Friends of FedRep Park — hey, there’s that name again — have been noodling on it for a few weeks now. You have until December to make your suggestions.
Seattle Parks and Recreation invites the public to submit potential names for a new park in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. Suggestions for names are due to the Park Naming Committee by Monday, December 12.
The Park Naming Committee is comprised of one representative designated by the Board of Park Commissioners, one by the Chair of the City Council Parks and Seattle Center Committee, and one by the Parks Superintendent. Criteria the committee considered in naming parks include: geographical location, historical or cultural significance, and natural or geological features. A park may be named for a person no longer living (deceased a minimum of three years) who made a significant contribution to parks and/or recreation. The Park Naming Committee will consider all suggestions and make a recommendation to the Superintendent, who makes the final decision.
Please submit suggestions for a park name in writing by December 12, 2011, and include an explanation of how your suggestion matches the naming criteria. Send suggestions to Seattle Parks and Recreation, Park Naming Committee, 100 Dexter Ave. N, Seattle, WA 98109, or by e-mail to [email protected]. In keeping with Seattle’s “Paper Cuts” program, Parks encourages electronic submissions.
We’ve gone over the naming rules before — they’re basically designed to help the community arrive at something safe and boring. Here are much more interesting suggestions that were brought up during the previous park naming processes.
To help inspire, here is some more on the future park space’s background. The city acquired the lots where a townhome development failed in 2010 for $2 million. While the city had cash to acquire the land, it was short on the design and construction end of things requiring a significant community capital campaign. The Friends of FedRep group quickly galvanized around helping bring the park to fruition. We documented the design of the park space here. The design proposal includes a northern strip of p-patch and community garden space and a series of benches and “coffee table” installations along the eastern retaining wall of the park lot. A neighboring development is going through the city’s design process and has raised some amount of concern about its future impact on the park space.
This spring, the park space was the scene of a sad and still unsolved death as the body of murdered Zachary Lewis was found in the lot. In the summer, the lot hosted the community spaces for the 2011 Capitol Hill Garage Sale Day. The naming bulletin from the city also lays out additional background on the project.
Federal and Republican: The property at the corner of Federal Avenue E and E Republican was purchased in March 2010. This acquisition helped fill a need for open space in the Capitol Hill Urban Village area.
In 2011, the Friends of Federal and Republican Park received a Neighborhood Matching Fund award and hired SiteWorkshop to work with the community in preparing a schematic design. Three public meetings were held, with the goal of designing and building a new neighborhood park that is welcoming for all neighbors. The preferred schematic has been developed. It has a large lawn area, seating at a “front porch” area at the top of the site and on a seat wall alongside the sidewalk. There will be community gardening (as part of the P-Patch program), opportunities for natural play and artwork.
The design development phase is underway. Details such as materials, artwork, natural play features, gardening and other particulars will be determined over the next few months.
Friends of Federal Republican Park won a $10,000 Build Your Block Challenge Award from Umpqua Bank. This will help with initial landscaping needs for the park. The community is working on additional grants and private fundraising with the hope of beginning construction in 2013.
For more information, please visit http://www.seattle.gov/parks/projects/capitol_hill_uv/
Fairbrother Park has a nice ring to it.
Umpqua Park.
Wasn’t my idea
http://twitter.com/#!/EricGrandy/status/130022177692073984
Dr. Homer Harris attended the dedication ceremony for Homer Harris Park (24th & Howell) a few years ago. I have a photo of him standing next to the then Parks Director and City and County Councilmembers.
The “no living people” rule was in effect then, so feel free to use the above example if you want to name the park after living or recently dead notables! (That would not include me, BTW).
If it were a “bigger” park we could name it after Victoria Liss.
She lived a few blocks away at Boylston & Republican (across from Tashkent Park, which would have been better but…)
Her entire ethos totally fits the hill.
Would be awesome.
OK Peeps, even I’m ready to let this thing go, after much commenting. Let’s move on, shall we?
looking into my crystal ball, this is what real estate geeks will someday call this little swatch of housing between hi-density Broadway and ped-commerce 15th, north of John. The variety of architecture and mansions (moreso near VP) are fitting when you compare to New Orleans’ or Toronto’s garden districts.
Also: Thomas St garden is just south of this new park, Federal Ave (all the way past Volunteer park) is lined with parking strip gardens and front yard gardens alike. Also makes a nod to the commitment to the literal Garden in the design, as well as the 3 parks featuring gardens along this same axis (VP Conservatory, FedRep, Thomas St P-Patch)
IMO, Naming parks after dead or living people is the pinnacle of boring, and not especially effective in getting future generations to remember who did what, and where (ex: I heard Myrtle Edwards park is a second hand name, the Gasworks site was originally supposed to be named after her, since she did so much good work over THERE for that site )
Great idea! I hope others get behind it.
Agnes Knudsen owned the two houses that were demolished in order to provide the park space. Agnes lived in one of the houses prior to marrying in 1950 and moving into the second with her new husband. She was a longtime capitol hill resident and truly emodied the spirit and energy of our neighborhood through many decades. Name it after Agnes Knudsen
That is a good name!
“Hazel Wolf Park” was proposed for Seven Hills but rejected, perhaps because Hazel was too left wing. Instead, we got a name, Seven Hills, that elevates business boosterism to history, a kind of monument to a lie, suggested by brainwashed school children. Typical Seattle.
In that case, Kay Rood is the obvious choice. She was the driving force behind Cal Anderson Park’s creation.