Cal Anderson Park

Features

The north end of the open park features Waterworks, a large mountain-shaped water fountain feeding a shallow texture pool, a reflecting pool, and a wading pool. The south end features the lighted Bobby Morris Playfield. The wading pool operates in the summer months from 12:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Other features:

• Shelterhouse
• Plaza
• Children's play area
• Caged tennis courts with outdoor lights
• Basketball courts
• Dodgeball court

History

Lincoln Reservoir was begun in 1889 in response to the Great Seattle Fire of the same year and was completed in 1901. A parcel just south of it was named Lincoln Park the same year. The famed Olmsted Brothers designed the park as part of their many works in the Seattle area. Over time, the area underwent several name changes. In 1908 it was developed as a playfield, and in 1922 its name was changed to Broadway Playfield so as not to duplicate the name of the new Lincoln Park in West Seattle. The playfield was named after Bobby Morris, a former King County, Washington, auditor, in 1980. Meanwhile, the area around the reservoir came to be known as Lincoln Reservoir Park. On April 10, 2003, the entire site was officially renamed Cal Anderson Park, in honor of Cal Anderson, Washington’s first openly gay state legislator, who died of AIDS-related complications in 1995.

From 2003 to 2005, the reservoir was rebuilt as a covered basin.

Three security cameras were installed in the park in April 2008 in an effort to combat certain types of criminal activity, namely vandalism, drug dealing, and public sex.

In 2009, Forbes magazine recognized Cal Anderson Park as one of the 12 Best City Parks in the U.S.

The Seattle March for Science took place at the park on April 22, 2017.

On June 8, 2020, protesters occupied the park and declared it part of the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ). The area was renamed the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest (CHOP) several days later.

On June 20, 2020, a shooting took place in the park, which served as a gathering area in the CHOP at the time. A 19-year-old man was fatally shot, and a 33-year-old man was critically injured. The incident was cited by opponents of the zone as a justification to disband it, using either the National Guard or the Seattle Police Department.

Light rail station

The northwest corner of Cal Anderson Park (at the corner of East Denny Way and Nagle Place) contains an entrance to the underground Capitol Hill Station of Sound Transit's Link light rail.

References

References

1. Banel, Feliks. (June 26, 2020). "All Over The Map: Like CHOP, Cal Anderson Park has a history of changing its name".
2. "Security cameras installed at Cal Anderson Park". KING5.com.
3. (November 18, 2009). "Cal Anderson Park named one of 12 best city parks in U.S. by Forbes.com". Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation.
4. (June 9, 2020). "'Welcome to Free Capitol Hill' — Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone forms around emptied East Precinct — UPDATE". [[Capitol Hill Seattle Blog]].
5. Clarridge, Christine. (June 23, 2020). "Seattle police investigating Tuesday morning shooting on Capitol Hill near Cal Anderson Park and CHOP". The Seattle Times.
6. "Link Light Rail, Capitol Hill Station". Sound Transit.