April 28, 2026

Deconstruction starts at Gas Works

Images from Seattle Parks presentation to landmarks board [enlarge]

The preserved gasification towers built in the 1930s and 1940s are a defining element of Gas Works Park’s presence at the edge of Lake Union.

Seattle Parks and Recreation contractor Lamb Contracting has begun work removing ladders, piping and catwalks from Gas Works Park's landmarked gasification towers in the name of public safety.

The work was authorized to start April 22 at the Wallingford park at 2101 N. Northlake Way, and could take up to two months, according to an SPR spokesperson.

The work stems from the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections' March 30 hazard correction order for the exterior elements of the “Cracking Towers” built in the 1930s and 1940s.

That order came after the city landmarks board repeatedly denied SPR's request for a certificate of approval to remove the climbable elements following 11 injuries and three deaths reported at the site, including a Ballard High School student who fell to his death there last summer.

SDCI's correction order requires SPR to take down the climbable features, overriding landmark considerations. The order described the ladders, catwalks and piping originally used to service and operate the towers as “unsafe,” and said the agency had to be in compliance on their removal by May 15 or officially request an extension to avoid paying a $500 daily fine.

The Seattle Times first reported the hazard correction order.

[enlarge]

Ladders, piping, catwalks and other features (shown in red) used to operate and service the towers are now being removed to make it harder for trespassers to climb them.

A permit for the work was issued April 14, and a contractor disclosure form filed the same day listed the license number for Lamb Contracting to complete the demolition work. Seattle Structural also completed a structural observation, according to forms filed on the project.

SHOWCASING AN INDUSTRIAL PAST

Gas Works Park operated as a gas plant from the 1900s to the 1950s. The site narrowly missed commercial development, thanks to an effort by preservationists and a 1962 vision by landscape architect Richard Haag to create a park designed to tell the story of the site's industrial history. The park opened in 1973, was landmarked by the city in 1999, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013.

More than 1 million people visit the park each year, according to the city. But security fencing around the north and south gasification towers haven't been enough to dissuade some trespassers from climbing them. Then-Mayor Bruce Harrell carved out $1.8 million from the city's budget last year to fund removal of the climbable features, following a declaration of emergency after the most recent death.

But given the landmark designation, SPR needed approval from the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board before any ladders, piping and catwalks could be removed.

The board denied SPR's updated certificate of approval application in October, saying that proposal removed too many features without sufficient justification. The board requested additional studies, and said other alternatives with lesser impact, like lighting and security cameras, should be considered, as well as a modified plan that retained upper sections.

Another SPR application that requested removing more of the climbable appendages was tabled by the board in January, and SPR was asked to rework it again. The correction order came before the board met to consider that reworked plan.