Lake Union Park
Type: Structures/Sites
Owner: Seattle Parks and Recreation
Phone: 206-684-4075
Designation*: N/A
Built: 1999
Location: 860 Terry Ave. N., Seattle
Map and directions (Courtesy Google Maps)
Hours: Daily
Admission: FREE

*DOE=Designated eligible; NR=National Register of Historic Places; NHL=National Historic Landmark; WHR=Washington Heritage Register; City=Local city; County=Local county; N/A=Not applicable

Comments from site users
9/17/2007 3 out of 5
The place is under construction and it was hard to get on the boats when we were there.

For more than 50 years, the US Naval Reserve trained recruits at a facility on the south end of Lake Union, an urban lake just north and east of Seattle’s downtown. The major feature on the Navy property was the Naval Reserve Building, sometimes called the Armory. Built in 1941, the blue, white and gold structure features an Art Deco design, including the portholes in the doors. A "wet trainer," a watertight room that fills with water, allowed sailors to practice sealing off and evacuating a flooded ship’s compartment. Other special training areas included an indoor rifle range, a full-scale ship's bridge with a pilot house, a chart room, a radio room, and a combat information center.

In 2000, the Navy donated the land and major buildings to the City of Seattle, which renamed the facility Lake Union Park. The Seattle Parks Department is in the midst of redeveloping the property as a destination for the South Lake Union neighborhood, and it’s making maritime history and heritage a major theme. Plans call for a maritime heritage center where visitors experience and learn about the history of the Pacific Northwest's maritime world. Programs include boat-building and boat-rentals, sea chantey sings, craft demonstrations, historic vessels, children's programs, sailing classes, and maritime festivals.