A 0.8-acre belvedere anchoring Seattle’s historic Pike Place Market, Victor Steinbrueck Park is named for architect Steinbrueck, who led the fight in the 1960s to save the market from redevelopment and advocated for public open space in the city. Opened in 1983 as Market Park and dedicated to him after his death in 1985, the park was designed by Richard Haag and Steinbrueck to harmonize with the traditional market setting and surrounding buildings.
Located at the north end of the market, the park sits over a three-level parking garage, above the Alaskan Way Viaduct. A turf lawn occupies the center of the site, with benches along wide paths around the edge and picnic tables under a metal pavilion. The north corner of the park has a pentagon-shaped sunken plaza and play area lined with benches. The park’s position high above the Viaduct offers 160-degree views of Elliott Bay, the Olympic Mountains, and sometimes Mount Rainier. It is the only downtown public open space with this panoramic view, which is framed by two 50-foot totem poles. Symbolic expressions of the Northwest Native People, the poles were designed by Martin Oliver and Jim Bender, with ironwork by Roman Torres, wood carving by Buster Simpson, and handprints by Haag and Steinbrueck.
