Jefferson Park is a

public park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a city park, municipal park (North America), public park, public open space, or municipal gardens (United Kingdom, UK), is a park or botanical garden in cities, densely populated suburbia and oth ...

and

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, tee box, a #Fairway and rough, fairway, the #Fairway and rough, rough and other hazard (golf), hazards, and ...

on top of Beacon Hill in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, bounded on the east by 24th Avenue S. and 24th Place S., on the west by 15th Avenue S., on the north by S. Spokane Street, and on the south by Cheasty Boulevard S.

History

The park site was originally planned by the State of Washington for state university use. In 1892, it was the site of a "pesthouse," or

isolation hospital Isolation is the near or complete lack of social contact by an individual. Isolation or isolated may also refer to: Sociology and psychology *Social isolation * Isolation (psychology), a defense mechanism in psychoanalytic theory * Emotional i ...

. In 1898, the land was sold to the city of Seattle, with plans to build a reservoir and a cemetery. In 1908, the park was named for

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...

. The

Olmsted Brothers The Olmsted Brothers company was a Landscape architecture, landscape architectural firm in the United States, established in 1898 by brothers John Charles Olmsted (1852–1920) and Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. (1870–1957), sons of the landscape ar ...

included the park in their comprehensive plan for Seattle parks, and designed the 18 hole

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

course which opened in 1915. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Jefferson Park contained anti-aircraft batteries, and was requisitioned by the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

for a

G.I. G.I. is an informal term that refers to "a soldier in the United States armed forces, especially the army". It is most deeply associated with World War II, but continues to see use. It was originally an initialism used in U.S. Army paperwork f ...

recreation center, with recreation facilities, a gym, and tent housing for soldiers and visiting family. In the post war years, the park returned to normal; the Army structures were mostly removed, though a new

Veterans' Administration The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing lifelong healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers an ...

hospital was built on the site of the original 9-hole golf course. (A replacement 9-hole course was built elsewhere in the park.) This is also the home course of golfing great

Fred Couples Frederick Steven Couples (born October 3, 1959) is an American professional golfer who has competed on the PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions. A former World No. 1, he has won 64 professional tournaments, most notably the Masters Tournament ...

. The golf course was the site of the

USA Cross Country Championships The USA Cross Country Championships is the annual national championships for cross country running in the United States. The championships is generally held in mid-February and it serves as a way of designating the country's national champion, as ...

in 2011. A

lawn bowling Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which players try to roll their ball (called a bowl) closest to a smaller ball (known as a "jack" or sometimes a "kitty"). The bowls are shaped (biased), so that they follow a curve ...

green and playgrounds were also constructed at this time. The park's reservoir was covered from 2008 to 2009, creating new parkspace supported by 624 columns.

The park today

The Jefferson Park Golf Course, the Jefferson Community Center, Jefferson Lawn Bowling green, and playfields continue to be heavily used. Jefferson Park received $8 million from the recent ProParks funding levy, allowing redevelopment and remodeling to begin. Projects in this park revitalization effort include new walking paths, gardens, and a new gymnasium. The Jefferson Park expansion officially opened October 28, 2010. Adjacent to the park on the west side is the Beacon Food Forest, a volunteer-run

forest gardening Agroforestry (also known as agro-sylviculture or forest farming) is a land use management system that integrates trees with crops or pasture. It combines agricultural and forestry technologies. As a polyculture system, an agroforestry system c ...

project that provides food to neighbors and food shelves. In June 2014 a 'skate space' designed by artist CJ Rench opened up to the public. It is a sculpture specifically designed for skateboarding.

References

External links

Official websiteJefferson Park Alliance
a group of neighborhood advocates for the park

* Beacon Hill, Seattle Cross country running courses in Washington (state) Golf clubs and courses in Washington (state) Parks in Seattle 1908 establishments in Washington (state) Protected areas established in 1908 {{KingCountyWA-geo-stub