Montlake Playfield, Shelter House, and Community Club – Seattle WA

Description

The Montlake Playfield and Shelter House were constructed partially on fill in former marshlands on the shores of Portage Bay between 1933 and 1936. In the 1910s and 1920s, houseboats moored there, and Dahlialand, a local garden store, utilized nearby acreage to grow dahlia bulbs for commercial use. Montlake mothers, desiring to ward off boredom that might propel their teenagers into juvenile delinquency, pushed for the creation of the playfield, which—with the field house structure that initially housed the community center—were built by the Works Progress Administration

(WPA) workers. The playfield was expanded in the early 1960s when material dredged for construction of the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge was dumped along its edge. The Montlake playfield and its facilities were improved and enhanced in the mid-1970s, including reconfiguration to accommodate football and track, and the construction of a gymnasium/community center facility.