The historic Golden Gardens Bathhouse, located north of the Shilshole Bay Marina, housed a changing room, storage facility, and a lifeguard station. Built in the 1930s, it was closed in 1974 due to limited funds. It reopened in 1994 as a drop-in center for at-risk youth. Pro Parks Levy funds from 2000 were used for its renovation in 2004. Independent heating keeps the bathhouse warm in the winter, and cross ventilations keeps it cool in the summer. Kathleen A. Conner, AICP, Planning Manager, Seattle Parks and Recreation, will discuss this project and the role of the department in preserving and maintaining the city’s historic Olmsted parks and boulevards, while accommodating newer active recreation areas.
Golden Gardens Park, named and developed by local mogul Harry W. Treat in 1907, was advertised as an “attraction” at the end of the new electric streetcar line to induce people to take a “Sunday outing” out of town and through the woods for a picnic or swim at a beach. Along the way, travelers were made aware of the real estate available for sale. Transit ended at Loyal Way and 85th Street with a steep twisting path down into the park. Those owning a tin lizzie could drive down a dusty road (near the present-day driveway entering the upper park from the north) and into a small parking area on the east side of the railroad tracks, then go by foot across the tracks to the beach. The northern half of Meadow Point, named by the Coast Guard, was the site of a shipyard until 1913. To the south, the beach curved in along the railroad seaway – all the way to Salmon Bay.
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Photo: Golden Gardens Park Bathhouse