Dr. Jose Rizal Park is a 9.6 acre (39,000 m²) park on the west slope 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, United States. The land, condemned by the city in 1917 for engineering purposes, was acquired by the Parks Department in 1971, and the park was dedicated eight years later. The park is named after

José Rizal José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda (, ; June 19, 1861 – December 30, 1896) was a Filipino nationalist, writer and polymath active at the end of the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines. He is popularly considered a na ...

, the de facto national hero of the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. Rizal Park is bounded on the west by

Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels thro ...

, on the north by

Interstate 90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain states, Mountain West, Great Pla ...

, on the east by 12th Avenue S., and on the south by S. Judkins Street and

the Jungle ''The Jungle'' is a novel by American author and muckraking-journalist Upton Sinclair, known for his efforts to expose corruption in government and business in the early 20th century. In 1904, Sinclair spent seven weeks gathering information ...

. The park consists of a grassy upper area with shelter and picnic tables, a wooded hillside, and an off-leash

dog park A dog park is a park for dogs to exercise and play off-leash in a controlled environment under the supervision of their owners. Description Dog parks have varying features, although they typically offer a fence, separate double-gated entry an ...

at the foot of the hill.

History

The land that would become Rizal Park was condemned by the city in 1917 for engineering purposes during the regrading of Dearborn and Jackson streets but was left undeveloped for several decades. The property was acquired in 1971 by the Parks Department, who built a small viewpoint and parking area. In 1973, the Filipino Alumni Association petitioned the city to honor the Filipino nationalist

; the park was renamed to Dr. Jose Rizal Park the following year. Funds to develop the park's facilities were granted by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in 1978 and work began with a groundbreaking on June 16, 1979. The city government dedicated Rizal Park on June 7, 1981, with opening ceremonies led by mayor Charles Royer as part of Seattle's "Philippine Week". The park was designed by Elaine Day LaTourelle with a picnic shelter, an amphitheater, play areas, and a public restroom. A mural by Val Laigo depicted the cultural diversity of the Philippines and the country's relationship with the United States. The expansion cost $343,500 to construct. ''

Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is an American daily newspaper based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1891, ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region. The Seattle Time ...

'' design critic Norman Johnston described the park's fixtures and materials as "economical, unpretentious and substantial supports" and praised its simple design on a complicated site.

References

External links

City of Seattle Parks Department page
1970s establishments in Washington (state) Asian-American culture in Washington (state) Beacon Hill, Seattle Filipino-American culture

Park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

Parks in Seattle Parks on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington (state) National Register of Historic Places in Seattle {{kingCountyWA-geo-stub

History

See also

References

External links