The plant cracked coal and then oil into gas from 1906 to 1956, poisoning the ground it stood on. When the city bought the site, the landscape architect Richard Haag argued for keeping the towers instead of scraping them — a genuinely radical position in 1970 — and the park opened in 1975 with the machinery standing.
The kite hill gives you downtown across Lake Union with float planes landing in front of it. Thirty minutes is enough unless the weather is good, in which case nobody wants to leave.
What our drivers would tell you
- Best skyline view that isn't Kerry Park, and a completely different composition.
- Windy. Bring a layer even in August.
Plant closed1956
Park opened1975
Time we allow30 min
CostFree
Where it is
On these tours
- ✓The Seattle City Tour — 3h, from $405
- ✓Seattle in a Day — 6h, from $810
Nearby, and often on the same day
What else fits around Gas Works Park.
1h 15mPike Place Market
Nine acres of fishmongers, farm stalls and the first Starbucks.
0h 15mKerry Park
The view on every Seattle postcard — a 15-minute stop, and worth it.
1h 15mSpace Needle
Built for a World's Fair in 400 days, and never taken down.
1h 15mChihuly Garden and Glass
Dale Chihuly's glass, indoors and out, at the foot of the Needle.
Build a day with Gas Works Park and see the price.
Tap the places you want on the home page. We work out the driving, tell you honestly if it will not fit, and show the whole vehicle price before you give us a name.