The pavilion and furniture were donated by the then Mayor of Taipei after a visit to Seattle in the early 1970s. Sakuma the land was previously occupied by the Specie Bank of Seattle, built in 1911, and the park, originally 0.33 acres (1,300 m 2), was completed in 1973. The original park space was designed by the landscape architecture firm of Sakuma, James, and Peterson, led by S.K. During the planning phase, the proposed park was generically named the International District Mini Park. The tall E-shaped Bush Hotel is on the northeast corner the three small buildings that would be demolished to clear the land for Hing Hay Park are in the southeast corner, and the post office (demolished decades later to expand the park) is in the southwest corner.įunds to purchase the buildings and land at the corner of Maynard and King were made available by the Forward Thrust bond initiative, approved by voters in 1968. History Īerial view of the block containing what would become Hing Hay Park (1969), facing northeast. The annual Dragon Fest also centers on Hing Hay Park.
Tai chi classes and free music are presented in the summer. 186 holds an annual Memorial Day ceremony there. The local American Legion Cathay Post No. In addition, the park features a memorial cenotaph for ten Chinese-American veterans who were killed during World War II. There is a large mural dominated by a dragon and featuring scenes of railroad construction, the Kingdome, and the King Street Station clock tower on the wall of the neighboring Bush-Asia Center, painted by John Woo in 1977. Parallel placement would have blocked the qi from flowing into the businesses on the opposite side of the street. Its placement is according to principles of feng shui. One side contains an outdated map of the district and the other is for community news. Placed on a diagonal in the southeast corner is a small hanging bulletin board with its own tiled roof. The original park has an authentic pavilion in the center, along with benches and chess tables. The original portion of the park occupies the quarter block at the corner of S. Īfter its expansion, the park occupies the south half-block north of S. Both are within the Seattle Chinatown International District established by City Ordinance 119297 in 1988. The park is a noncontributing property within the Seattle Chinatown Historic District described in 1986. It was built in 1973 and includes a pavilion, community games, and two gateways. The park is located on the north side of South King Street between 6th and Maynard avenues, east of Union Station and the Historic Chinatown Gate. Hing Hay Park ( Chinese: 慶喜公園) is a 0.64-acre (2,600 m 2) public park in the Chinatown–International District neighborhood of downtown Seattle, Washington, United States. (figuratively, "Park for Pleasurable Gatherings")