Gas Works: Historical Landmark

(Patricia Fels, Friends of Gas Works Park Board Member, contributed this article. FOGWP is a Wallyhood sponsor.)

In January of 2013 Gas Works Park was listed in the National Register of Historic Places.   Gas Works Park is historically significant not only for its conservation of Seattle’s industrial heritage, but also as “a project that represents the work of master landscape architect Richard Haag and as a resource that embodies the distinctive characteristics of landscape architecture in the 1970s.”   Haag integrated the industrial towers and buildings into a park, the first in America to envision industrial structures complementing and enriching a park.    The park opened to the public in 1973 and has remained a favorite of Seattleites.

The American Industrial Revolution and Seattle’s own early growth and success were based on having an abundant supply of energy.  One of the most important forms was gas.  Light and heat for American cities was produced by illuminating gas, a man-made product derived from coal or oil.  In the U.S. there were over 1,400 plants producing such gas, and from 1880-1930 they fueled America’s growth.   The structures and machinery standing in Gas Works Park are remnants of the Industrial Revolution that transformed the face of the world.  Today, this assemblage is the sole survivor of that era.   Preserved as a public park, it is the only site that can be documented with most of the generating equipment intact.  An ensemble of towers, pipes, pumps and boilers forms a unique and dramatic collection of a pioneering technology from the turn of the century.  This industrial archaeology displays the processes that set the stage for Seattle’s prosperity and present life style.

Although the Gas Works on Lake Union were integrated into a new City of Seattle Park, the key components of transforming coal or oil into gas are still in place.   Haag’s “pruning” was extremely selective and knowledgeable.  His research into the gas works made clear to him the sequence of the technology and the importance of maintaining the rationale of the gasification process.  Haag’s other pruning was of pipes and catwalks which provided a safety hazard, and the removal of several large metal buildings/sheds to open up the site to the views of the Lake and the City.

The impact of Gas Works Park on land reclamation and industrial preservation attitudes and techniques extends far beyond Seattle.  GWP has gained national and international standing as a prototype for industrial site conversions.  Haag introduced a groundbreaking experiment in bioremediation to naturally clean the polluted soil.   The soil was so polluted through 60 years of industrial use that it could not be planted like a traditional park.

Gas Works Park Play Area Renovation Project has reached active status. Monies from the 2008 Parks and Open Space Levy allocated 1.4M$ for the GWP project. Shortly after the passage of the Parks and Open Space Levy, Friends of Gas Works Park Play Area Renovation Committee worked to establish “An Integrated Solution: Inside and Outside the Play Barn”. This proposed design by Rich Haag Associates honors the Original Master Plan—the transformation of industrial artifacts, while taking advantage of new technologies and adhering to ADA regulations. This new inside-outside Playground will delight all children and their companions visiting this historic park.

Future plans for the landmark include a campaign to “free the towers” of temporary fences that presently surround the largest of the steel towers.   The existing enclosure keeps the public from the experience of a walk amidst these giants.

Haag’s validation of vernacular industrial elements influenced designers and developers to look at sites as important remnants of history and culture.  His vision of Gas Works Park literally transformed the public’s affection of relics of industrial America and his innovative concept of natural bioremediation set a new tone for how to cleanup former industrial waste sites.  As such, the park holds a unique place in the history of landscape design and is a symbol of our lost industrial heritage.