Wilderness

Although completed in the 1970s in the popular Brutalist style, the park creates a soothing retreat in an otherwise uninhabitable space. The project was the first of its kind, setting a new precedent and creating a new land-use typology. The park’s most impressive feature is the fountain, which masks the noise from the interstate and transports the visitor into a dynamic environment reminiscent of a small waterfall one might encounter during a hike in the Northwest. Although the fountain is clearly a man-made composition, it is uncanny how similar the experience mimics being in the wilderness.

In the winter of 2002 the park was the location for a series of crimes that included a murder. In the aftermath, many blamed the design of the park for the increased crime and called for a radical re-design. However, a neighborhood group formed an organization called the Freeway Park Neighborhood Associationand worked with the city to activate the park and make minor changes that included improving lighting, increasing police patrols and pruning back plants.

In the years that followed, these simple actions were said to have reduced the crime in the park by 90 percent. Despite the work that has been done and the safety statistics, the reputation of being a dangerous park lingers.

Despite the park’s safety concerns, capturing the essence of a natural experience using concrete is extremely difficult to accomplish. It takes expert observational skills and a keen mind to accomplish this feat. One of the factors that makes the fountain so potent is the real danger that exists when people jump from one block of concrete to the next. There is a safe, regulated path through the environment, but most are compelled to depart from that path and explore. I have taken college design students from out of town to this park, and it was hard to drag them away from the fountain. It made a lasting impression, and many shared that it was their favorite experience in Seattle — a man-made wilderness on top of an interstate.