Two lily ponds flank the terrace along the west side of the Concourse.

Judge Thomas Burke was an important civic leader in Seattle.

The performing arts have been part of Volunteer Park’s history since the first concert grove was constructed in 1910.

John Charles Olmsted characterized Volunteer Park as a landscape park. This meant that it was primarily designed for people to enjoy the landscape. So how did the tennis courts come to be?

The Keeper’s Lodge, built in 1910, is a charming example of Craftsman architecture and is still used by Seattle Parks and Recreation for offices and crew quarters.

The shelter house is one of just a handful of Olmsted-designed structures still standing in Seattle parks.

Neighbors initially feared that the noise from the playground would be disruptive for adjacent homes along Federal Avenue, so the playground was relocated.

Though it has been substantially renovated over the years, the Volunteer Park Conservatory building retains its original appearance as a Victorian iron and glass conservatory.

The reservoir was already built when Olmsted was commissioned to design Volunteer Park. He immediately saw it as an asset.

The lawns create space for gatherings and recreation. On a sunny day, this lawn is full of picnickers, people playing Frisbee, and people walking their dogs.

The Seattle Asian Art Museum was the original home of the Seattle Art Museum.

The Black Sun, sculpted by Japanese artist Isamu Noguchi, was placed in the park in 1969.

Climb the interior stairways, which spiral up opposite sides of the standpipe, to reach the observation deck at the top of the structure. John Charles Olmsted located the standpipe along the concourse because it is the highest point in the park, affording the best views of the surrounding landscape.

For Chloë Bass’s project, commissioned and organized by the Henry, a series of fourteen stone benches are placed throughout Seattle’s Volunteer Park with two additional sculptures residing outside the Henry itself. Each bench is engraved with its own inscription—artist-written text that both stands alone and creates a larger meaning across the series of seating—and a silhouetted image applied in light-responsive pigment, which allows the image to shift slightly based on the time of day, weather conditions, and sight lines.

In 2021, VPT planted 25,000 daffodil bulbs on the west side of Volunteer Park to create a permanent springtime garden bed.

The Puget Sound Dahlia Association maintains a display garden of Dahlias on the north eastern side of the park. They are planted each May and generally in full bloom from July to mid-October.