Genesee Park (Seattle)
Encyclopedia
Rainier Valley, Seattle, Washington
The Rainier Valley neighborhood in Seattle, is located east of Beacon Hill; west of Mount Baker, Seward Park, and Leschi; south of the Central District and First Hill; and north of the city line...
neighborhood of Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
. A waterway, Wetmore Slough, before the lowering of Lake Washington
Lake Washington
Lake Washington is a large freshwater lake adjacent to the city of Seattle. It is the largest lake in King County and the second largest in the state of Washington, after Lake Chelan. It is bordered by the cities of Seattle on the west, Bellevue and Kirkland on the east, Renton on the south and...
by nine feet in 1917 as part of the construction of the Lake Washington Ship Canal
Lake Washington Ship Canal
The Lake Washington Ship Canal, which runs through the City of Seattle, Washington, connects the fresh water body of Lake Washington with the salt water inland sea of Puget Sound. The Ship Canal includes a series of locks, modeled after the Panama Canal, to accommodate the different water levels...
, it was purchased by the city in 1947 and used as a dump until 1963. Development of the park began in 1968. It also hosts Seafair
Seafair
Seafair is a summer festival in Seattle, Washington, USA that encompasses a wide variety of small neighborhood events leading up to several major city-wide celebrations...
hydroplane races and air show
Air show
An air show is an event at which aviators display their flying skills and the capabilities of their aircraft to spectators in aerobatics. Air shows without aerobatic displays, having only aircraft displayed parked on the ground, are called "static air shows"....
s every year.
The L-shape park is bordered to the north by Lake Washington and the Stan Sayers Memorial Park/Mount Baker Rowing and Sailing Center, the south by a ridge inline with S. Alaska St., the east by 46th Ave. S. and the west by 43rd Ave. S. along its northern segment and 38th Ave. S. along its southern segment, with its namesake, S. Genesee St., traveling east-west through the middle of it.
In the '90s the Rainier Community Center was relocated across the street, from its previous home, onto Genesee Park at its western-most edge.
The park features a nature trail/wild bird habitat plus a large picnic shelter and open grass area on its northern segment, a sand upper-field for soccer plus an artificial turf lower-field for soccer and football along with a fenced-in dog park through its central segment, a circular walkabout in its southwest segment, and three child play areas (one north of S. Genesee St. at 44th Ave. S., one south of S. Genesee St. at 43rd Ave. S. and one at the Rainier Community Center).
The two sports fields located just south of S. Genesee St. are equipped with stadium light poles to illuminate the field into the night as needed.
During the first week of August, Genesee Park also serves as the main entrance to hydroplane and air show festivities, part of Seattle's summer celebration known as Seafair, dating back to the '50s.