Flo Ware Park is named for an African American community activist in 1982.

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In 1982, Flo Ware Park is named for an African American community activist. Located on the southeast corner of 28th Avenue S and S Jackson Street, it is a miniature park of 21,600 square feet. Florasina Ware (1912-1981) was the quintessential activist, known in Seattle for raising a strong voice on behalf of children, the elderly, and the poor. When Ms. Ware died in 1981, there was an overwhelming feeling in the community that she be memorialized. The city purchased the land in 1969 for $46,000 wih Forward Thrust funds. William Talley is the landscape architect.

An undulating concrete wall surrounds a sand bed and there are swings, slides, climbers, a merry-go-round, and a basketball hoop for the neighborhood children. In 2001, the Leschi neighborhood began discussions about redesigning the park because of unwelcome activities there.

Sources:
Mary T. Henry, Tribute: Seattle Public Places Named for Black People (Seattle: Statice Press, 1997).

By Mary T. Henry, August 22, 2001

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Related Topics: Environment | Black Americans | Seattle Neighborhoods |

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This essay made possible by:
The SCHOONER Project:
The Hon. Jan Drago
Seattle City Council
Seattle Department of Neighborhoods

Flo Ware Park, Seattle, October 2001
Photo by Priscilla Long