Bradner Gardens Park

About

Bradner Gardens Park is a 1.6-acre park in the Mt. Baker neighborhood of southeast Seattle. Visitors are encouraged to enter the park through one of three arbors designed, fabricated, and installed by University of Washington architecture students in the Howard S. Wright Design / Build Studio under the tutelage of instructor Steve Badanes.

Winding paths connect the many features of Bradner Gardens Park including seven ornamental theme gardens in the ornamental border, 61 p-patch plots, and the children's A to Z garden below the scarecrow. The park is host to 50 varieties of ornamental street trees recommended for small spaces and under utility lines. A 33-foot-tall vintage (1916 to 1933) Aermotor windmill circulates water from the seasonal pond to the dry streambed next to the children's play area. Tilth Alliance manages the demonstration gardens.

The park also offers wonderful play experiences for children with a basketball court that has one regulation hoop and one adjustable hoop. Watch a basketball game from the mosaic bench decorated by Coyote Junior High students, then explore the orange tractor (metal fabricated by Clair Colquitt and wood carved by Chris Vondrasek) and hollow log in the children’s play area.

Visitors can discover art throughout the park from the garden weasel wind chime by Clair Colquitt to the trellis made from garden tools. The leaf-shaped pavilion built by the architecture students provides a wonderful small gathering space.

Community volunteers worked with Barker Landscape Architects to design Bradner Gardens Park in cooperation with Seattle Parks and Recreation. Friends of Bradner Gardens Park is a special collaboration of residents of the Mt. Baker Community and the following horticultural organizations:

• Department of Neighborhoods P-Patch Program
• Tilth Alliance

Friends of Bradner Gardens Park maintain the gardens in cooperation with Seattle Parks and Recreation staff. Bradner is a pesticide-free park that uses sustainable gardening practices.

Current Project

Spring 2025

Restroom Repair & Upgrades

The restroom officially re-opened in March 2025! The project renovated the existing restroom building, including a new roof, plumbing, and electrical.

The community is working with an artist to replace the time mosaic and a temporary installation has been hung in the restroom. Seattle Parks and Recreation and the community will work to minimize impacts to the restroom when the final mosaic is ready for installation. Please check this page for installation updates.

Budget

$805,000 for design, permitting and construction. SPR negotiated with the insurance company to provide funding from the arson damage; Seattle Parks and Recreation Capital Investment Program provided additional funding. 

Schedule

Planning and Design: Completed
Construction: February 2024 – March 2025

For Information Contact:
Ben Handziak, Project Manager at: ben.handziak@seattle.gov