Kerry Park (Seattle)

Kerry Park is a small public park and viewpoint on the south slope of Queen Anne Hill in Seattle, Washington, United States. It overlooks Downtown Seattle and is located along West Highland Drive between 2nd Avenue West and 3rd Avenue West. The park's view is considered to be the most iconic views of the city skyline, with the Space Needle prominent at the center, Elliott Bay to the west, and Mount Rainier in the background.[1][2]

On clear evenings, Kerry Park is often crowded with people taking photos of the Seattle skyline.

The park encompasses 1.26 acres (0.51 ha) and includes a railing and several benches facing south towards the skyline. A stairway on the west end of the park connects below to West Prospect Street and the Bayview-Kinnear Park, which has a small playground.[3][4] Kerry Park is named after the couple lumberman and business magnate Albert S. Kerry and his wife Catherine. They lived nearby, and donated the land to the city in 1927 "so that all who stop here may enjoy [its] view."[5]

At the center of Kerry Park is Changing Form, a steel sculpture by artist Doris Totten Chase that stands 15 feet (4.6 m) high and was installed in 1971 with donations from Kerry's children. The sculpture is hollow and is popular as a play area for children and as a framing device for photographers.[6] That view from Kerry Park encompasses downtown Seattle, Elliott Bay, the West Seattle peninsula, Bainbridge Island, and Mount Rainier.[7]

The park is sometimes incorrectly referred to by local denizens as Highland Park, a reference to Highland Drive, which runs east–west across Queen Anne Hill.

The view from the park is often used as the backdrop for television news segments on Seattle, as well as other media depictions of the city.[8] Kerry Park was also featured in the opening credits of the 1999 film 10 Things I Hate About You,[9] and in Frasier as the view from the titular character's apartment.[10]

Views from Kerry Park
Panoramic view from Kerry Park at sunset, 2016
Panoramic view from Kerry Park at night, 2016
Panoramic view from Kerry Park in 2005

References
  1. Reynolds, Christopher (July 29, 2012). "Seattle, beyond the usual tourist haunts". Los Angeles Times. p. L4. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  2. Sreedharan, Sigma (April 1, 2015). "Explore the PNW: Top 10 Seattle photography spots". KING 5 News. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  3. "Bayview-Kinnear (Lower Kerry Park)". Seattle Parks and Recreation. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  4. Jaramillo, Jake; Jaramillo, Cathy (2012). Seattle Stairway Walks: An Up-and-Down Guide to City Neighborhoods. Mountaineers Books. ISBN 9781594856778. OCLC 793572524. Retrieved February 18, 2019 – via Google Books.
  5. Phil Dougherty (November 29, 2008), Kerry, Albert Sperry (1866-1939), HistoryLink, retrieved September 13, 2019
  6. Hackett, Regina (December 23, 2008). "Doris Chase, 1923-2008: Artist's work part of Seattle landscape". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. p. A12. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  7. Kerry Park (Franklin Place). Seattle Parks and Recreation. Retrieved March 5, 2011.
  8. "Kerry Park". MyNorthwest. March 27, 2011. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  9. Flynn, Caitlin (August 5, 2015). "How To Visit Seattle Locations From '10 Things I Hate About You' aka Live Out Your Teenage Dream". Bustle. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  10. Millman, Zosha (September 16, 2018). "25 years later: The 'Frasier' cast then and now". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved February 18, 2019.


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