Seward Park
Old-growth forest peninsula on Lake Washington, once held by a land speculator before a costly city buyout.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to Seattle's Seward Park traces a decades-long standoff between a Pennsylvania land speculator, William Bailey, and a city that wanted his peninsula for a public park. Bailey bought the land in 1889 and simply sat on it, never logging or farming, while the isthmus flooded every winter and Seattle grew around him. You'll hear how landscape architect John Charles Olmsted's recommendation set off a fight over what an untouched forest was worth, and how the two sides ended up in court. Listen for the story near the old-growth trees along the shoreline, where eagles now nest.
This audio guide was created using AI.
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