“Magnolia Bluff…was named by Geo. Davidson in 1857, Naval Geographer, who mistook the abundant grove of Madrona trees for Magnolias.”
Called out as “Magnolia Bluffs Park” in Olmsted’s 1908 report, Olmsted envisioned this scenic park bordering the “Magnolia Bluffs Parkway” (Magnolia Boulevard), which he first proposed in 1903.
Featuring beautiful bluff vistas toward Elliott Bay, Alki Point and Puget Sound at its south end, the park has an Olmstedian greensward character, composed of mature madronas and other specimen trees underplanted with lawn. Magnolia Park captures the essential features John Charles envisioned in his 1903 report for development of Magnolia Bluffs: deep ravine, park drive, walks, preserved native vegetation and superb public views.
Magnolia Boulevard borders the park where it curves inland to skirt a wooded ravine. This boulevard runs between the Howe Street Bridge and Discovery Park and is 2.4 miles long.
John Charles Olmsted described his vision for the boulevard in his 1903 report, writing “This parkway would be a strip of land of irregular width, providing for a park drive, two walks, a bridle path and a bicycle path along the top of Magnolia Bluffs, and bending inland to include the deeper portions of some of the ravines, and it would include also all the steep bank west of Smith’s Cove, and the bluffs and slopes between and below them down to high water mark from Smith’s Cove to Fort Lawton Reservation (today’s Discovery Park).”
