
July 3, 1998

The Garden of Remembrance

DJC Special Showcase: Benaroya Hall

Journal staff

When it became clear that the Seattle Symphony might have difficulty raising sufficient funds to build the new concert hall and landscape the entire block, Priscilla "Patsy" Bullitt Collins proposed creating a memorial garden in one of the few unshadowed spots left in downtown Seattle.

Garden of Remembrance

Garden of Remembrance

The Garden of Remembrance integrates the urban fabric of the Seattle Art Museum, the University Street Hill Climb, and Benaroya Hall with the surrounding area. A half-acre of open space along second Avenue, the garden honors Washington State residents who died for their country.

The garden and plaza were designed by Robert Murase, principal and lead designer at Murase Associates, Landscape Architects. A third generation Japanese-American who was in an internment camp during World War II and later served in the Army, Murase has a particular sensitivity for the idea of a war memorial.

The Garden features a skillful combination of stone and water features, plantings, plaza space, and granite walls etched with the names of over

7,500 veterans. The memorial is oriented so that the names face the western sun.