North Striders - 9/12/2017 ! Magnolia: Magnolia Bluff & Fort Lawton Historic District in

Start: Uptown Espresso, 3223 W. McGraw !Distance: About 5.3 miles According to historians, Magnolia Bluff was named in 1857 by Captain George Davidson of the U.S. Coast Survey, who reportedly mistook the plentiful madrona trees for magnolias. Nonetheless, the name stuck and the neighborhood that developed later became known as Magnolia. Today our walk will feature two of !Magnolia’s highlights: Discovery Park and Magnolia Boulevard. Our primary destination today, Discovery Park, is ’s largest public park, covering 534 acres. The site occupied by the park was originally an army post, named Fort Lawton, on land given to the U.S. Army by the City of Seattle in 1898. The installation remained small until World War II when over 200 new buildings were added. After the Korean War, activity declined and many buildings were demolished. By the 1960s, most of the land was surplused and, in 1972, it was given to the City of Seattle for a park. The new park was named for Captain Vancouver’s ship, the Discovery. A portion of the land remains in federal ownership, however, including a military cemetery and an FAA radar facility. There is also an historic lighthouse on which has been renovated by the City of Seattle. Built in 1881, it is the oldest lighthouse on Puget Sound. The park shares space with the Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center and a King County wastewater treatment !plant near the lighthouse. • From Uptown Espresso, walk north on 33rd toward Magnolia Gateway, a series of bright red sculptures representing magnolia buds and blossoms and madrona berries. • Cross Smith and follow footpath next to the tennis courts. At the playground and parking lot, turn left to reach 34th. Continue as far as Barrett. As you walk along you’ll pass several of Magnolia’s community institutions, including a community center, a K-8 public school, and the branch library. • Turn left on Barrett, right on 35th, left on Emerson, and right on 36th. Very shortly there is a break in the fence to enter Discovery Park. Walk along the footpath until you reach an asphalt road. Turn left and follow roadway as it bends to the right, and leads to the Discovery Park Visitors Center. Here ! there are restrooms and displays. ! North Striders - 9/12/2017

• Cross the parking lot to the noticeboard, and look for the signpost directing you to the Discovery Park Loop Trail. We’ll be taking the trail to the right to enjoy the park’s forest. After passing through a pedestrian tunnel, look to the right through the trees to see the military cemetery. • When you see a road ahead, look for a path going off to the left. Turn and follow the path, which soon becomes a sidewalk paralleling the road. Cross the road at Discovery Park Blvd. Walk along the sidewalk to reach a narrow sidewalk to the your left and head up stairs to Ave. Turn right and proceed to the footpath on the left side of Oregon Ave. (blocked to vehicles). • Follow the footpath to reach the Henry M. Jackson Viewpoint at the flagpole. From here, you’ll have a grand vista of Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains, as well as historic Fort Lawton buildings. This is the Fort Lawton Historic District of the park. The entire Historic District is on the National Register of Historic Places, and is a designated city landmark. There is a display of historic photos at the viewpoint. • As the road curves around, we’ll see some former military housing, a bus shelter, guard house, band barracks, and the handsome Post Exchange & Gym. Uphill to the left is former officer housing (restored and marketed recently by private developers) and the radar installation. • Continuing on a footpath uphill, we’ll reach the Chapel, which received much needed restoration in the past year or two. Walk past the front of the chapel. From here, if the weather cooperates, we’ll have a magnificent view over South Meadow. Continue ahead to the park exit. • Exiting the park at 43rd, walk a block to the left and turn right onto Magnolia Boulevard. The boulevard along Magnolia Bluff, with its panoramic views, was an important feature of the 1903 Olmsted park plan. Follow Magnolia Boulevard, enjoying the splendid views across the Sound, over Elliott Bay to West Seattle, and toward downtown. You may catch a glimpse of Mt. Rainier in the distance. • Just past Magnolia Viewpoint Park, look down over the chain link fence near the sidewalk at the remains of a 1997 mudslide that destroyed six houses on the road below. Nature has almost entirely reclaimed the land. • Carefully cross Magnolia Boulevard at Howe, turn left at 36th, then right onto a wide alley at the intersection with Constance Dr. Follow alley for 2 blocks, turn left after passing a church, and emerge onto Viewmont. Take crosswalk at 33rd ! to reach the coffeehouse on McGraw. ! Original description and directions created by Nancy Olsen. Additions and updates by J. Miller. North Striders - 9/12/2017

Magnolia: Magnolia Bluff & Fort Lawton Historic District in Discovery Park