Gaslighting Seattle's Gas Works Park
As reported earlier, the Seattle Recreation and Parks Department want to strip most of the catwalks, ladders, and other walkways from Seattle's Gas Works Park, which was designed by landscape architect Rich Haag and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. One body that must approve the application is the Landmark Preservation Board, which met on October 1, 2025, to review the proposal. Late in the meeting, Andy Sheffer, the Deputy Superintendent of Operations at Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR) claimed that “the intent of these structures was that they would deteriorate over time.” Several Board members, thinking this was Haag's "intent," found the observation persuasive. Others, however, said show us in writing. The Cultural Landscape Foundation did some digging and the results are presented in the letter recently sent (below) to the Landmark Preservation Board, which next meets on Wednesday, October 15, 2025. Submit a public comment to the city’s Landmarks Preservation Board right away.
October 13, 2025
Ms. Erin Doherty, Landmarks Coordinator,
Ms. Sarah Sodt, City Historic Preservation Officer, Landmarks Coordinator for Downtown, South Lake Union, First Hill, and Pike/Pine Neighborhoods
Seattle Department of Neighborhoods
P.O. Box 94649
Seattle, WA 98124-4649
Dear Ms. Doherty and Ms. Sodt:
Thank you for this opportunity to offer comments on the supplement to the briefing packet for “Cracking Towers at Gas Works Park.”
At the October 1, 2025, meeting of the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board about proposed alterations to Gas Works Park, Andy Sheffer, the Deputy Superintendent of Operations at Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR) called for the removal of the catwalks and ladders—“pedestrian appurtenances”—from several of the park’s towers claiming that “the intent of these structures was that they would deteriorate over time.” While Sheffer did not specifically claim this was the intent of Rich Haag, the landscape architect who designed the park, several members of the board believed that to be the case and indicated that Haag’s alleged “intent” was vote determinative.
Fortunately, board members Caton, Pheasant-Reis, and Thomas asked for proof, the latter two wanted it “in writing,” and Caton said: “So if that is truly Rich Haag's vision, then let's hear about it so that we can make an informed decision.”
Sheffer told the Board: “We have no problem coming back and responding to the concerns.” He added: “So, by all means we will respond to request for additional information.”
In their response of Oct. 9, SPR repeatedly fails to make their case. First, they cite “excerpts from the Landmarks and National Register nominations.” Rather than rely on SPR’s excerpts, we looked at the full 243-page National Register nomination. Page 90-91 includes the following:
Haag’s other pruning was of pipes and catwalks which provided a safety hazard, and the removal of several large metal sheds to open up the site to the views of the Lake and the City. Foreseeing the impact of the design, he predicted that this would give Seattle the only park in the world which would incorporate any aspect of industrial age. (Weems, 1980) Upon completion of the Park, The New York Times (8/30/75) lauded the design as “Seattle’s pre-eminent piece of public sculpture.” [emphasis added]
Haag had in fact addressed the pipes and catwalks deemed a safety hazard; what remained was part of his “intent.” Later, on page 121, is this:
A 2002 structural analysis of Gas Works Towers 1 & 2 conducted for the City of Seattle revealed that the Towers are structurally sound. The only elements that needed structural work were the catwalks and several braces, all were repaired in 2006. [emphasis added]
These catwalks and braces would not have been fixed prior to the site’s designation if they were not part of Haag’s “intent.”
Next, SPR’s response of Oct. 9, 2025, fails to provide anything “in writing” that cab document that it was Haag’s intent for the “structures” to “deteriorate overtime.” There is not a single citation from any interviews, including the video oral history that The Cultural Landscape Foundation produced about Haag, scholarly publications, or any other source. SPR has provided nothing “in writing” about Haag’s intent as board members had requested.
Instead, SPR claims that board members are to infer Haag’s intent based on historic site renderings that SPR claims do not show the “pedestrian appurtenances” they seek to remove; their absence, SPR asserts, means Haag didn’t intend for them to remain.
As noted above, in their response of Oct. 9, SPR “Included ... excerpts from the Seattle Landmarks and National Register nominations, the original Myrtle Edwards, now Gas Works Park Master Plan documents and Rich Haag’s original design drawings for the park. Taken together all of the references and plans show Rich Haag’s intention to retain the towers, given their visibility and monolithic nature.” SPR added: “There is no reference to the pedestrian appurtenances, and they are not shown on the plans” that accompany this “supplement [to] the previous submittal.”
Here, too, SPR’s response falls completely flat. What they claim is “not shown” is actually right there in black and white. The images labeled “Portion of Rich Haag’s 1975 Site Plan showing the Towers and surrounding area,” “Landmarks Nomination package; Rich Haag’s drawing showing structures to be preserved,” and “Original Design Drawing” clearly show octagonal borders around each tank that correspond with the catwalks, and each shows another feature slated for removal, the multi-level platform/walkway in the middle of the four-tank sequence.
As noted in our letter of September 25, 2025, we recognize there are legitimate safety concerns, but request that Seattle Parks and Recreation propose a solution that addresses those challenges by avoiding, minimizing, and mitigating any adverse impacts on the historically significant Seattle Landmark and National Register designated property.
Let me also cite my letter of May 21, 2002—more than 23 year ago—written, in my capacity as Coordinator of the Historic Landscape Initiative at the National Park Service, in support of Gas Works Park’s National Register nomination, which appears on pages 39-40 of the National Register nomination:
“Gas Works Park accomplishes something that none of the other celebrated works of this period achieves - it does not approach the landscape with a clean slate. ... [T]here is a discourse here with the city’s industrial past. Unlike virtually every public project from this era, most often products of urban renewal, Haag understood change and continuity. If only more recent waterfront revitalization projects that have occurred since Seattle’s Gas Works Park, in Newark, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Cleveland or Providence had forged such a powerful interface, perhaps we would not be eradicating our Industrial heritage and removing character-defining industrial landscape features from our waterfront cityscapes. This aspect of the design is a first-ever in the United States and perhaps internationally.
“At Gas Works Park, Richard Haag not only created a modern masterwork of landscape architecture he articulated a nature-culture ethic that is in itself, equally bold and pioneering. It is this dual vision that allows the park design to transcend other works of this period and those that have followed. From my perspective as a preservation professional and landscape architect, Haag’s design ethos is above all, revolutionary in that his approach suggests a professional ethic for practice that embodies the Secretary Standards for Rehabilitation. We could all learn much from Haag’s vision.”
There are numerous other letters of support in that same nomination file that are well worth reading as they attest to the national importance of Gas Works Park and the incomparable genius of Rich Haag’s design approach and intent.
