Rebecca Mongrain's Blog

92. Climb the water tower at Volunteer Park

Warning! Picture Heavy Post!



This past weekend, I decided to tackle one of my 101 in 1001 days challenges which was to climb the water tower at Volunteer Park.

I grabbed my camera and I headed over to Volunteer Park, slipping a bit on the ice along the way. I stepped up to the front of the water tower and snapped a few shots before heading up the stairs.



I climbed and climbed and took a little break to look out the window, halfway up the stairs.



Finally I arrived at the top and noticed a runner directly behind me. I guess some people use this tower as an exercise place!



While at the top, I read about Volunteer Park and how it came to be. Volunteer Park was purchased in 1876 and is located at the top of Capitol Hill in Seattle. In 1903, the Olmstead Brothers helped design what is now called Volunteer Park. The Olmstead Brothers' proposal included an observation tower (which I had just climbed). The water tower was finally building in 1906 and provides panoramic views of downtown, the harbor and the Cascade and Olympic Ranges. There are 106 steps to the observation deck with an elevation of 520 feet.



Volunteer Park is the home to the Seattle Asian Art Museum, a conservatory for exotic plants and its' five supporting greenhouses and cover 43-acres of land.



After all that observation, I headed back down the stairs toward Volunteer Park.



I stepped out onto the snowy road and checked out this plaque.



Before heading home, I decided to check out the traditional views at the park and snapped a few shots.







All in all it was a pretty day and I crossed something off my list!