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Gas Works Park Urban Park

Gas Works Park Urban Park. Terence, Megan, Brian, Stephen. http://www.theseattletraveler.com/files/2007/09/gas-works-park-on-lake-union.jpg. Gas Works’ Past. Lake Union’s industrial history Sawmills Coal Ship building Iron Railroad Seattle Gas Light Company (1900)

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Gas Works Park Urban Park

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  1. Gas Works Park Urban Park Terence, Megan, Brian, Stephen http://www.theseattletraveler.com/files/2007/09/gas-works-park-on-lake-union.jpg

  2. Gas Works’ Past • Lake Union’s industrial history • Sawmills • Coal • Ship building • Iron • Railroad • Seattle Gas Light Company (1900) • 1906: Coal gas plant opens

  3. Bogue and Industrial Lake Union • Virgil Bogue • Civil engineer • Proposed “Bogue Plan”: Would have been Seattle’s first comprehensive plan • Argued that Lake Union should be an industrial area • Located in the heart of the city • The Olmstead Brothers • Landscape design firm • Recommended that the area should be used for a park • Nice views, boating, playground, etc. • Bogue Plan is rejected by voters • 1917: After canal and Ballard locks are open, Lake Union does indeed become very industrial and Bogue’s dream was still achieved. Virgil Bogue http://www.archive.org/stream/cyclopaediaofame08wilsuoft#page/146/mode/2up

  4. Seattle Gas Company • Originally called the “Seattle Lighting Company” • Main product: illuminated gas used for lighting • Made from coal • Used for cooking, refrigeration, heating homes and water, etc. • Name changed to Seattle Gas Company in 1930 http://uncolor.com/galleries/images/Gas%20Works%20Park.jpg

  5. Switch From Coal to Oil • 1937: Seattle Gas Company decides to manufacture their city gas from oil instead of coal • Too expensive to operate coal-to-gas generators • Took them apart, replaced with oil-to-gas generators http://www.seattlepi.com/dayart/20070914/450gasworks.jpg

  6. Facilities • Storage tanks • Boiler house • Pump and compressors • Offices • Laboratories • Additional support http://clerk.ci.seattle.wa.us/~scripts/nph-brs.exe?s1=29073&S2=&S3=&l=20&Sect7=THUMBON&Sect6=HITOFF&Sect5=PHOT1&Sect4=AND&Sect3=PLURON&d=PHO3&p=1&u=/~public/phot1.htm&r=1&f=G

  7. Gas Company’s Decline • The plant’s number of customers decreased significantly from 1940-1954 • Lost nearly 7,000 customers • Seattle started importing natural gas in the 1950’s • Seattle Gas Company’s plant begins to fail • Production of city gas is stopped in 1956

  8. 1960 Transition of Seattle Gas Company to Gas Works Park

  9. Important Dates • 1956 Last year for production at Seattle Gas Company • 1962 City of Seattle purchased the abandoned land and structures for $1,340,000 • 1970 Park development begins • 1971 Park Board approved Richard Haag Associates’ Master plan to preserve the grounds and structures on them in the form of a park • 1972 Debt from purchasing the land is paid off • 1976 Gas Works Park (GWP) opens to the public

  10. 1966

  11. Acquisition and Designer of the Sight • The land and its structures were acquired with the help of Seattle Forward Thrust Bonds and help from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (H.U.D.). • Richard Haag designed the master plan for the park, and presented his ideas and plans to the Seattle Park Board for approval. • Richard Haag can is considered the most important individual in the transition of Seattle Gas company into a such a well know park that it is today. He noticed the value of the structures and the fact that they should and could be saved for future generations.

  12. Richard Haag • Wanted to keep the structures on the sight of the future park for their aesthetic value. • His mindset was opposite from most during this time • He was awarded the President’s award for Design Excellence given by American Society of Landscape Architects (ALSA) in 1981 for his work on GWP

  13. Unique Design of GWP • Much of the Rubble from the original building foundations at GWP was used to make the huge “Earth Mound” • The pump house was converted to a “Play Barn” • The boiler house was converted to a picnic area • The sight had been contaminated through the years of use, and as a result bioremediation was used throughout to varying degrees. (Various trees, plants, and a 18” of biomediated soil was used beneath the grass fields.) • Stretch of railroad at the north end is now part of the Burke-Gilman trail that runs through the park.

  14. Before... 1965

  15. …After

  16. Pollution in the Park • 1976 park opens • 1984 park was found to be contaminated, temporarily closed • 1985 pollution covered with 1-foot cap of clean soil • 2001 $4million cleanup • 2004 cleanup of NW corner • 2005 investigate sediment contamination

  17. Pollution • 3,000 pounds of tar found in underground vein in NW corner • Benzene burned off

  18. Oozing Tar • Tar works its way out of the ground periodically • Golf ball to Softball size clumps • Weekly Park checks for oozing tar (summer months)

  19. Benzene • Long term exposure: • Decrease in red blood cells • Harmful effects to bone marrow • Can cause Leukemia • High levels of exposure: • Drowsiness • Rapid heart rate • Confusion • death

  20. Naphthalene • Evaporates in air • Dissolves in water • Pass through soil • High Levels of exposure: • Fatigue • Pale skin • Lack of appetite • Long term exposure: • Cancer in animals Easily passed through soil/water, spreads throughout the Park and lake

  21. Chemicals • Most underground plums of dangerous chemicals were removed burned off in 2001 • 5.8 acres of clean soil top • Chemicals still exists and pose threats to park goers, ecosystems, and Lake Union

  22. Pollution Today • Current levels of Benzene and Naphthalene are bellow dangerous levels for humans • Remain above the level harmful to the environment and groundwater

  23. Social Benefits of Gas Works Park Remnants of the Old Gas Works city-data.com tahinitoo.wordpress.com

  24. Social Benefits of Gas Works Park A large man-made hill • Kite Flying • Sundial gasworksparkkiteshop.com zombiezodiac.com

  25. Social Benefits of Gas Works Park • Picnics • Protests • Concerts • Weddings • Festivals greenwallingford.ning.com

  26. Social Benefits of Gas Works Park • View of downtown Seattle • Fourth of July fireworks display city-data.com blog.seattlepi.com

  27. Sources • http://www.seattlepi.com/local/331605_gasworks14.html • http://www.seattle.gov/parks/park_detail.asp?ID=293 • http://www.washington.edu/research/showcase/1958a.html • http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003884047_gasworks14m.html • http://www.seattlepi.com/local/331605_gasworks14.html

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