Colman Playground Shelter House – Seattle WA

Description

During the late 1930s, with funds from the WPA, the Seattle Park Department upgraded Colman Playground. The largest component of the improvement project was the construction of a new shelter house near the southwest corner of the playground. WPA workers began constructing the shelter house in 1937. Designed by Seattle architect Arthur Wheatley, the two-story, reinforced concrete structure housed a playroom, caretaker’s room, and storage room on its lower level, and a social room, office area, and restrooms on its upper level. A plaque on the north side of the building reads: “Built by Works Progress Administration, 1936-1937.” Despite the dates on the plaque, Park Board records indicate that work on the structure continued through at least the summer of 1938. The new shelter house was formally dedicated on May 17, 1940.