Slowly, the city is coming back to life, with spring nearly in full bloom. Seattle transforms into a colorful paradise of green grass, leaves and flowers returning for the season. As soon as temperatures rise above 70, shorts and bare shoulders make their appearance, with more people filling the streets and parks turning into sunbathing spots. This photo essay is an ode to spring and brings a collection of parks I discovered after my second year of living in Seattle.
A couple enjoying the city skyline beside the reservoir at Volunteer Park. If you are looking for the best view of the city, I dare you to find the Black Sun Sculpture by Isamu Noguchi in front of the Seattle Asian Art Museum.
Humans, pets and insects celebrating the sun at Volunteer Park’s Amphitheater Lawn. This green is the perfect place to be in community while surrounded by nature. After a well-deserved picnic, you can wander into the Conservatory to meet its lush, rare plant collection.
String lights give City Hall Park a concert-like glow, with the Smith Tower overlooking the area. The park is located just outside the Pioneer Square Link Station, making it easy to find. Once you are there, be sure to visit the nearby art galleries in the neighborhood.
Someone left you flowers at Waterfall Garden Park. This park is an oasis in the middle of the city, featuring a 22-foot waterfall. It was designed by Masao Kinoshita and is currently filled with pink roses. You can also find and admire its long-standing Chamaecyparis obtusa, a species of cypress native to central Japan in East Asia.
A moment of calm, surrounded by water, rocks and plants. This sculpture is made of granite boulders, accompanying the sound and movement of the waterfall. The park was previously called UPS Waterfall Garden Park because it was created as part of the United Parcel Service headquarters that once occupied this site in Pioneer Square.
Bear (Totem) by artist Duane Pasco is a carved and painted western red cedar sculpture created in 1973 and installed in Occidental Square Park. This sculpture faces Tsonoqua (Totem), a mythological giantess and “nightmare bringer” traditionally invoked by North Coast mothers to encourage children’s obedience.
A ceremonial feeling along the streets of Pioneer Square. The sculpture in the center is the back of the Fallen Firefighters Memorial, a bronze sculpture group by Hai Ying Wu.
A couple at Pioneer Square Habitat Beach. This small urban shoreline restoration site is part of efforts to bring ecological function back to the Elliott Bay shoreline, replacing hard seawalls with more naturalized habitat features that support marine life.
Finding the way. Unlike a traditional beach, Pioneer Square Habitat Beach is not intended for recreation or swimming, but rather for ecological restoration and education.
If you’re near the Pioneer Square Habitat Beach, I would recommend joining the line for Molly Moon’s Homemade Ice Cream at the historic Washington Street Boat Landing Pergola. I’m a big fan of mint chocolate, but for whatever flavor is your favorite, you must have it with a chocolate shell, the top chocolate that gets hard with the cold.
This April, follow the sun. Bring a friend or two along for a walk, a picnic or a moment to recharge and let your worries drift away.
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