View from our AirB&B at Roy Street, Capitol Hill, Seattle

After having arrived from the UK I was glad to find out that our AirB&B that we had booked online for a few days before travelling on to Portland, Oregon, had a great view over the Olympic Mountains from our kitchen windows.  Was also really happy to discover that Capitol Hill was a quirky place with lots of hidden corners to explore, especially coffee shops and book shops.

Capitol Hill in Seattle has got the advantage of being on a hill, so it is possible to get some real good views over parts of the city and great water views of Lake Union as well. If you are into walking or just want a bit of a jog or fresh air the Volunteer Park is great for this. And it is very central to the shopping area too,  about 10 -15 minutes walk from the Roy St Coffee shop that I mentioned in my earlier blog post. The walk to there was a bit of an experience in itself because I love getting inspiration from houses, and I just saw lots of inspiring houses, different colours, different styles, most of them made of wood with verandas in the front, which is so different to the styles I’m used to from the UK.

The park was founded in 1876 by the City of Seattle, on a previous cemetery ground, and it was then called Lake View Park –  the cemetery is now just beyond the park. 

It is called The Volunteer Park because it is honouring the volunteers who were serving in the Spanish-American War of 1898.

  View over Lake Union, where the film Sleepless in Seattle was filmed

The great thing about Volunteer Park, apart from its views, and its trees and plants,  is that it is an eclectic mix of old and new.  So you’ve got a water tower from  1906 and a water reservoir there, old and modern sculptures, an amazing Art Deco building in the middle of  the park,  housing the Seattle Asian Art Museum, and then there is also a conservatory with different plant collections. 

In addition to all that  you’ve got picnic areas and children’s play areas as well so you can spend the whole day there in the summer if you like.

Unfortunately the Art Deco building was closed when I visited [Feb 2018] because of a massive restoration project to bring the building up to present building requirements. I can’t wait to go there again to have a look at the inside when it is ready, it certainly did look quite amazing from the outside.

The park is a gem in itself – and then I discover another gem just by the cemetery there and close to where you get the best views  of Lake Union, which featured in the film Sleepless in Seattle  with Tom Hanks . It has something to do with films as well and this hidden gem is Bruce Lee’s grave.