McClellan Place. Photo by Wendi.
Recently I was browsing the Seattle Parks website, looking for Beacon Hill area parks. One park caught my eye: McClellan Place. There is no picture on the park’s web page, but the address is there: 16th and McClellan. “16th and McClellan? But… that’s the Red Apple!” I thought. And then I realized — McClellan Place is the tiny triangle of greenery at the corner there, the one that cars cut in front of when taking a right turn onto McClellan from Beacon Avenue. It has a tree and a rhododendron plant, and unfortunately, usually a few pieces of debris as well.
Next time you walk past the Red Apple, take a moment to visit McClellan Place, and enjoy a bit of one of the Hill’s — and Seattle’s — smallest parks. Perhaps next summer it would be nice to bring a lawn chair and a hibachi out there and have a picnic.
One thought on “Visiting one of Beacon Hill’s smallest parks”
That chunk of public land also includes the turning lane, the sidewalk and if you look close at the maps on the DPD site, the area between the sidewalk and the Red Apple Parking lot. Ever wonder why the lot doesn’t push all the way into that corner? It public space!
This little chunk of public space was pointed out to me at a design charette organized by BH Pedestrians and DPD. The urban planner who brought it up also wanted us to take notice of the huge amount of street right-of-way that Beacon Ave takes up, and to consider uses other than moving cars north and south. What if that corner had some tables and chairs, along with the greenery and the sidewalks were extra wide, providing a place to eat your take out food, buy some flowers or other things from a street vendor, etc.
That chunk of public land also includes the turning lane, the sidewalk and if you look close at the maps on the DPD site, the area between the sidewalk and the Red Apple Parking lot. Ever wonder why the lot doesn’t push all the way into that corner? It public space!
This little chunk of public space was pointed out to me at a design charette organized by BH Pedestrians and DPD. The urban planner who brought it up also wanted us to take notice of the huge amount of street right-of-way that Beacon Ave takes up, and to consider uses other than moving cars north and south. What if that corner had some tables and chairs, along with the greenery and the sidewalks were extra wide, providing a place to eat your take out food, buy some flowers or other things from a street vendor, etc.
Consider the possibilities.
David