Gas Works Park Recognized for Its Significance in Landscape Architecture

Gas Works Park, photo courtesy Richard Haag

On January 2, 2013, Seattle’s Gas Works Park, a significant example of Richard Haag’s innovative landscape architecture, was listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

The 19-acre park, built on the site of a former coal gasification plant, opened in 1975 and incorporates elements of the old plant into its design. An early example of sustainable landscape architecture, the park was considered revolutionary for the bioremediation strategies it incorporated into its design. The designation, more than a decade in the making, makes Gas Works Park the first Haag-designed landscape on the Register – a long overdue recognition for Haag and his work. The listing was advanced by the Friends of Gas Works Park, recipient of TCLF's 2004 Stewardship Excellence Award. The inclusion of Gas Works Park in the Register is a victory for proponents of landscape architecture from the latter half of the 20th century and opens the way for great recognition and understanding of work from the Post War era.