Firehouse Mini Park

About

This double-decker tree house with a fire pole is a favorite in this tiny park, but there are other things packed in too; more play area pieces, a merry-go-round, a ride-on-dog spring toy, a drinking fountain, benches, a picnic table, and a wide unit paver sidewalk surrounding the play equipment curb. Asphalt paving exists between the unit pavers and the ROW sidewalk. On the other side of the wide brick path is an open grass area with a surrounding planting bed and a picnic bench in the middle. There is also a sweet little concrete frog hidden in the leaves outside of the play area on the east side. This park's small trees also make it a good cooling-off place for pedestrians overheated by walking among large buildings. Currently, the park has 10 deciduous trees among which six are London Plane trees, three are Vine Maple trees and one Red Maple tree.

Firehouse was No. 23, built c.1910, last equipment run in 1964, due to the construction of a larger facility on a site better located to serve the expanded service area. The station housed horse-drawn and then motorized equipment. Firehouse #23 built in 1910 had the last equipment run in 1964 due to the construction of a larger facility on a site better located to serve the expanded service area. When the site became park property, a play area was designed by Rich Haag in 1970 and redesigned in 1986 by Hough Beck and Baird.

Seattle's Fire Dept. was born in the ashes of the Great Fire of 1889, a hopeless battle by the valiant and courageous Volunteers using primitive equipment and water supplies. They had only two tiny steam pumpers, hand-drawn hose carts, hand-carried ladders, buckets and axes to fight a fire in a "tinder town" of wooden buildings and streets with water from a system of hollowed fir logs plus springs. The Volunteers became the fire's scapegoats and disbanded in disgust. The Department used horse-drawn equipment until the 1920's.

Current Project

Visit the Firehouse Mini Park Play Area Renovation for more information and opportunities to participate in the community engagement process!