| Historic Name: |
Volunteer Park Reservoir |
Common Name: |
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| Style: |
Other - Industrial |
Neighborhood: |
Capitol Hill |
| Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1901 |
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| Significance |
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In the opinion of the survey, this property appears to meet the criteria of the National Register of Historic Places. |
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In the opinion of the survey, this property appears to meet the criteria of the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Ordinance. |
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The Seattle Water Department completed this 20,500,000-gallon reservoir in 1901 as part of the initial phase of the new Cedar River Water System, which also included Lincoln Reservoir further south on Capitol Hill and Queen Anne Tank No. 1. In the early decades of Seattle’s existence, Capitol Hill was beyond the city limits, remote and inaccessible, heavily wooded and far from the center of the town of about 2000 residents. In 1876, the recently incorporated city purchased a forty-acre tract at the very top of the hill from James M. Colman, a sawmill engineer who later became a prominent real estate developer, for $2000 without specifying the purpose of the purchase. Presumably, the land had been logged of its stand of old growth forest, leaving behind bare patches between the stumps and smaller trees. This tract would later become one of the city’s preeminent parks, known initially as "Lake View Park" in 1887, then "City Park," and finally Volunteer Park in 1901, honoring those who had volunteered for the 1898 Spanish-American War. Further land acquisitions brought the size up to its present-day 48 acres. The Water Department also took an active interest in this hilltop park as a desirable location for a reservoir to provide gravity service to Seattle’s population. When the city purchased the park property in 1876, there was no stated intention of locating a water facility there, but many must have realized the potential over the years due to its elevation. When plans for the Cedar River Water System developed late in the 19th century, the site was identified as an excellent location for Seattle’s first intermediate service reservoir. The Volunteer Park Reservoir was built at the same time as the Lincoln Reservoir, the city’s first low service reservoir, and Queen Anne Tank No. 1, the city’s first concrete and steel standpipe, in order to serve the city’s intermediate elevation needs. At that time, cast-in-place reinforced concrete construction was done with site-made concrete, which was hand-mixed and poured in small batches. This method resulted in great variations in the quality of the materials and in on-going maintenance problems, requiring extensive repairs over the years to repair the damage and deterioration. The same year the reservoir was completed, a streetcar line was established along Volunteer Park’s eastern boundary, 15th Avenue East, and real estate developer James Moore began to plat and improve his 200-acre tract as the Capitol Hill Addition. Millionaires’ Row, then the city’s preeminent place to live, also developed along the four blocks of 14th Avenue East immediately south of the park. In 1903, the city hired the Olmsted Brothers landscape firm to prepare plans for a comprehensive park and boulevard system, including suggestions for improvements to existing parks, with Volunteer Park first on the list. From 1904 to 1912, extensive formal improvements to the park were made, following the detailed plans of the Olmsted Brothers firm, which called for a "metropolitan appearance" due to the park’s close proximity to the downtown hotel and business district. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976, Volunteer Park is recognized as possessing the most fully realized design of all the Olmsted plans created for the Seattle parks, boulevards, and playgrounds system. This reservoir was completed two years before the Olmsted Brothers landscape firm recommended and designed improvements to Volunteer Park. However, it was fully integrated into that plan, which provided for sweeping views to the west across the reflecting waters of the reservoir from the park’s concourse drive. As the Capitol Hill residential neighborhoods developed and increased the demand for reliable water service, a metal standpipe was built in 1906 to provide additional gravity pressure to the high service area. Construction of this 883,000-gallon steel standpipe also followed the recommendations of the Olmsted Brothers, which called for an observation tower in the park. In 1918, the Water Department announced its intention to build a second reservoir in Volunteer Park to meet the demands of a growing city. Public opposition and finally a court decision in 1920 brought an end to this ill-conceived idea. The architecturally distinctive Volunteer Park Reservoir is significant for its associations with the development of Seattle’s water system and with the improvement of the park under the direction of the Olmsted Brothers firm
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| Appearance |
Set on the western slope of 48-acre Volunteer Park, this 1901 reservoir occupies most of the southwest corner of the park below the Seattle Art Museum to the northeast. Integrated into the park’s design, the 20,500,000-gallon reservoir has a mostly triangular shape and a one-story reinforced concrete gate house located at the southernmost corner. Grassy lawns slope down to the reservoir on the eastern half while the hillside drops off beyond the west half with concrete stairs leading down to lower levels of the park. The reservoir’s interior side walls have a very low slope and have been patched with tar in places. Surrounding the reservoir is a low concrete parapet wall capped with an overhanging coping and adorned with diamond details between simple pilasters. A chain link fence topped with barbed wire encloses a concrete walk with a gutter on the outer edge, which encircles the base of the parapet wall. Within the chain link fence, modern globe lights atop concrete posts are situated at intervals around the reservoir. A narrow dirt path lies outside of the fence and provides pedestrian access around the exterior of the reservoir. Concrete stairs lead into the reservoir adjacent to the gate house’s east side, and a ramp leads down to the reservoir on the west side. Within the reservoir, a small stand pipe adjacent to the east of the gate house has water bubbling from the base. This reservoir and gate house are very similar if not nearly identical to the 1901 Lincoln Reservoir located further to the south on Capitol Hill. Despite the alterations noted above, the reservoir retains fairly good physical integrity. However, the concrete parapet wall surrounding the reservoir shows signs of deterioration, such as spalling, cracks, and rust jacking. The wall is crumbling in places due to the fact that it appears to be mostly made of aggregate and due to the infiltration of vegetation. While the deterioration is severe in places, the wall is mostly intact.
In the future, the Volunteer Park Reservoir will most likely be decommissioned by Seattle Public Utilties. |
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| Status: |
Yes - Inventory |
| Classication: |
Structure |
District Status: |
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| Cladding(s): |
Concrete |
Foundation(s): |
Concrete - Poured |
| Roof Type(s): |
None |
Roof Material(s): |
None |
| Building Type: |
Industry/Processing/Extraction - Waterworks |
Plan: |
Triangular |
| Structural System: |
Concrete - Poured |
No. of Stories: |
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| Unit Theme(s): |
Architecture/Landscape Architecture, Science & Engineering |
| Integrity |
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Changes to Plan: |
Intact |
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Changes to Original Cladding: |
Slight |
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| Major Bibliographic References |
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King County Property Record Card (c. 1938-1972), Washington State Archives.
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Sherwood, Don. Seattle Parks Histories, c. 1970-1981, unpublished.
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McWilliams, Mary. Seattle Water Department History, 1854-1954: Operational Data and Memoranda. Seattle, WA: Water Department, City of Seattle, c1955.
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Seattle Water Department. Annual report / City of Seattle, Water Department. Seattle, WA: 1908-1965.
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