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One of my favorite objects in the Archives is this 1973 footage
recorded by the Seattle Engineering Department
documenting the City's Operation Triangle initiative.
Public green space has been a topic that the Emerald City
has routinely revisited over the years.
Trees and greenery are aesthetically pleasing
and aid in combating air pollution and climate change.
As public attitudes towards the environment shifted in the late
1960s, open space planning and investment gained momentum.
Americans started placing a higher value on recreation
and healthy living conditions.
During the 1970s, most open space acquisition in King County was funded
by Forward Thrust, a public works bond package approved by voters in 1968.
These funds supported public space projects such as the new Seattle Aquarium,
construction of new recreational facilities,
and improvements to scenic drives and parks.
Operation Triangle was one such improvement
to rejuvenate Seattle streets scene.
The City's “crazy quilt street grid” includes hundreds of street triangles,
selections of which were “landscaped into islands of green space.”
“It is a long range Urban Beautification Program, jointly financed by the City
and private sources,
coordinating the efforts of private individuals,
businessmen, community groups, garden clubs, City of Seattle departments
and skilled professionals in improving scores of street
triangles in Seattle through low maintenance landscaping.”
The concept was originally proposed and drafted by the Women's
Division of Seattle Chamber of Commerce.
According to Operation Triangle Chairman Kathleen V. Nelson,
“In 1965, concerned Seattle Chamber of Commerce volunteers and city officials
sat down to devise a program to bring the professional
and public planting amateur into a working partnership.
Operation Triangle, coordinated by the Chamber's Seattle Beautification
Committee in cooperation with City Engineering, emerged.”
Operation Triangle mini-parks won various awards for their design and innovation.
The film footage features a variety of Operation
Triangle locations before, during and following landscaping efforts.
Of particular note is the triangle park at the intersection of
Fourth Avenue, Olive Street and Stewart Street,
the centerpiece of which is a 35-foot sequoia tree.
The tree was relocated to the park
from City property at Aurora Avenue and Broad Street.
At the time it was 30-feet tall and giving 4-1 survival odds
because of the anticipated replanting shock.
The tree’s root ball was originally pruned
and prepared to be moved out of the way for the proposed Bay Freeway.
However, the proposal was rejected by voters
in 1972, rendering the tree temporarily displaced.
The site planners believed a mature tree would fit best with the high walls
of surrounding architecture.
The triangle park was named in honor of John M. Jewett,
a longtime Seattle businessman, founding member of the SeaFair Commodores,
and first Seattle Chamber of Commerce president, who passed away in 1971.
Work on the John M. Jewett Memorial Triangle began in November 1972 and was completed in March 1973.
Mayor Wes Uhlman, City officials, SeaFair Commodores, Jewett’s family, and Seattle
Chamber of Commerce members, participated in ceremonies for the ground-breaking,
tree replanting and memorial site dedication in 1973.
To learn more about Operation Triangle, Forward Thrust or view additional archival
footage from the Engineering department, please visit seattle.gov/cityarchives.
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