Freeway Park

Freeway Park, officially known as Jim Ellis Freeway Park, is an urban park in Seattle, Washington, United States, connecting the city's downtown to the Washington State Convention Center and First Hill. The park sits atop a section of Interstate 5 and a large city-owned parking lot; 8th Avenue also bridges over the park. An unusual mixture of brutalist architecture and greenery, the 5.2-acre (21,000 m2) park, designed by Lawrence Halprin's office under the supervision of Angela Danadjieva, opened to the public on July 4, 1976, at a cost of $23.5 million. An expansion of the park that stretches several blocks up First Hill, including a stairway and wheelchair ramp, was opened in 1982.

Freeway Park
Aerial view of Freeway Park at night
TypeUrban park
Location
  • 700 Seneca Street,
  • Seattle, Washington, United States
Coordinates47°36′35″N 122°19′52″W
Area5.2 acres (2.1 ha; 0.0081 sq mi; 0.021 km2)
OpenedJuly 4, 1976 (1976-07-04)
Owned bySeattle Parks and Recreation
Operated byFreeway Park Association
Open6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Public transit access University Street
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Washington Heritage Register
Seattle Landmark
ArchitectLawrence Halprin, Angela Danadjieva
Architectural styleBrutalism
NRHP reference No.100004789
Significant dates
Added to NRHPDecember 19, 2019
Designated WHROctober 25, 2019
Designated SEATLMay 18, 2022

The park is also a cultural landscape and a precedent setting park that, according to The Cultural Landscape Foundation, helped define a new land-use typology for American cities. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 19, 2019, having been listed on the Washington Heritage Register in a unanimous vote on October 25; it was also declared a Seattle Landmark by the city's landmarks preservation board in a unanimous vote on May 18, 2022.

The park's unique architecture has made it famous among parkour enthusiasts. The World Freerunning and Parkour Federation listed Freeway Park second on its list of the seven best parkour locations in the world.

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