In Your Community
  1. Home
  2. In Your Community
  3. Great Places in America

Percival Landing Boardwalk: Olympia, Washington

Summary

Once a bustling harbor, by the 1950s Olympia's waterfront had become mostly industrialized with privately owned warehouses, lumber mills, and dumps and oil storage tanks blocking public access to the water. By the mid-1970s, however, a new chapter began to unfold when Washington Public Lands Commissioner Bert Cole announced that the state department of natural resources would declare a portion of the shoreline a public place.

Designated Area

A 3.3-acre park with a 0.9-mile boardwalk on the Budd Inlet waterfront in downtown Olympia, along 4th Avenue West and Columbia Street NW.

Once blocked by warehouses, lumber mills, and oil tanks, the Percival Landing boardwalk is now open to visitors at all times of the day. Photo courtesy of Jonathon Turlove.

Planning Excellence

Once a bustling harbor, by the 1950s Olympia's waterfront had become mostly industrialized with privately owned warehouses, lumber mills, and dumps and oil storage tanks blocking public access to the water. By the mid-1970s, however, a new chapter began to unfold when Washington Public Lands Commissioner Bert Cole announced that the state department of natural resources would declare a portion of the shoreline a public place.

Because of that decision, says city Parks, Arts and Recreation Director Linda Oestreich, "we are fortunate to have the majority of urban waterfront in public ownership."

Guided by plans and studies from local officials, civic groups, a local improvement district, and a local urban planning and design committee led by the American Institute of Architects, the first phase of the 0.9-mile wooden boardwalk was dedicated as Percival Landing (a city park) in 1978 with subsequent additions completed in 1985 and 1988.

Adjacent to the landing, a three-story timber viewing tower offers a unique, 360-degree view of Olympia that includes breathtaking views of the Puget Sound's Budd Inlet, snow-capped peaks of the Olympic mountain range, and the state capitol dome.

Adjoining the boardwalk is 1.3-acre Percival Landing Park, which occupies the site of a former Unocal oil storage tank purchased by the city in 1996. Adjacent restaurants reflect the city's maritime heritage.  Several hotels, Farmer's Market, and a vibrant downtown business district including shopping, dining, galleries, and theaters further supports the recreational and retail nature of the waterfront.

Two people prepare to launch a canoe into Puget Sound. The Olympic Mountains can be seen in the background. Photo courtesy of Carl Cook.

Defining Characteristics, Features

Continuity of Effort

  • In 1979, the citizens of Olympia requested an Urban Planning and Design Committee of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), which suggested focusing downtown revitalization efforts on Percival Landing. The study led to the expansion of the boardwalk and spurred  development of adjoining shops and restaurants by local business owners. The AIA team returned in 1990 and suggested linking Percival Landing to public transit to increase connectivity.
  • In 2004, Olympians approved a tax to expand the city's park system and connecting sidewalks.  After the wooden boardwalk was found to be deteriorating, $2.5 million of that fund was put toward the first phase of Percival Landing reconstruction.
  • The current $10.5 million improvement project, to be completed by August 2011, will address the most deteriorated section of the landing.  Phase 1 will replace the wooden boardwalk with ecologically sensitive materials and design, and build a multi-use facility with bathrooms, showers, historic interpretation, and a large meeting room along with two pavilions designed to include future visual and audio elements focusing on Percival Landing's maritime history. The multi-use building will be LEED silver rated, and the rest of the landing "green" built.

Historic Value

  • The Squaxin Indian tribe, whose city Steh-Chass predated Olympia, and who depended on the South Puget Sound for thousands of years before the first European settlers, contributed to Percival Landing's planning process for redesign.
  • In 1860, Sam Percival, a settler from Massachusetts, built a wooden steamship dock used as an entry point for passengers and cargo in the spot where Percival Landing is today; the Percival family continuously operated the wharf until shortly before World War II.
  • The Sand Man, a 60-foot wooden tugboat that worked the waters of the Puget Sound for 75 years, is on the National Register of Historic Places and is docked permanently at Percival Landing and open daily as a museum.

Place for Social Gathering

  • Percival Landing Park, an open green space, is used along with the boardwalk and moorage facilities for a variety of gatherings from family picnics to two annual maritime-themed events that draw 10,000 visitors: Wood Boat Festival over Memorial Day and Harbor Days over Labor Day
  • Percival Landing is a popular site for friends and neighbors to stroll the boardwalk, picnic, and sit on one of the many wooden benches.
  • A gateway to Olympia, Percival Landing is connected to the state capitol campus and a nearby Farmers Market by sidewalks, streets, bike lanes, and intercity public bus.
  • Percival Landing is adjoined to a vigorous downtown business district populated by locally owned shops and restaurants, many of which reflect Olympia's maritime heritage and presence as Washington's capital city.

Public Waterfront

  • Percival Landing boardwalk and park has 0.9 miles of continuous public waterfront access and moorage facilities that welcome short-term visiting boaters.
  • Eldon Marshall, longtime city supervisor who facilitated waterfront acquisition, considers it one of his lasting legacies.
  • Percival Landing is part of the greater Olympia Parks, Arts and Recreation Department, which manages three parks on or near the waterfront that are connected for boaters and pedestrians alike.
  • The three-story timber viewing tower adjacent to the landing includes a schematic map that points out prominent Olympic peaks that can be seen from over 60 miles away.
  • Public art is interspersed on the boardwalk; "The Kiss," a metal sculpture of a man and woman leaning on the boardwalk guardrail kissing, is a favorite spot for photos.

A demolition project takes place behind the historic 'Sand Man' tug boat. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the 'Sand Man' worked the waters of Puget Sound for 75 years before being transformed into a museum. Photo courtesy of Stephanie Johnson.