History of Ravenna

Land Use History Of Ravenna Park- Location of 2  is near a large tree!

Ravenna Park is one of Seattle’s oldest parks; opening in 1887 .It was privately owned and known as Ravenna Springs Park. Ravenna Park has been directly linked with Green Lake park, the lake was a physical vestige of the Vashon Ice glacial sheet. The overflow of Russell lake created an outflow that became a creek that ran southeast from the lake. It created a mile and a half ravine down to what is now Union Bay. When pioneer settlers first came they mainly settled along Elliot Bay. As they began logging the local area they choose not log Ravenna Park. This preserved examples of giant old growth Douglas Firs. As you can see in the picture above taken in 1900 a large Douglas fir.

The trees remained through the Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition in 1908 which publicized the development of pacific Northwest. The fairgrounds for this were the campus of the University of Washington. Slowly these trees rising close to 400 feet slowly started disappearing by 1926.

In the mid-1960s the Ravine was largely covered in construction spoils from the freeway. The City of Seattle planned to use the ravine for staging a comprehensive storm water drainage project in 1986. Since then the park has seen major restoration by the city as well as residents. As you walk through Ravenna park today you will see the scars of care free citizens that toss their garbage, and the homeless who call it there home. But, we are very grateful to have such a ecologically diverse place to escape to within the city.