Final Design For 'Jimi Hendrix Park' Unveiled In Seattle (Video)

Butterflies and guitars, flowers and music, sun and water, and creative use of color are reflected in the final design concept of Jimi Hendrix Park to pay tribute to the legendary Seattle rock star.

Compiled from three initial concepts, the final design was unveiled for the community and the public at the third and final public event on Wednesday, August 10. The evening celebration of the collaborative design process included a presentation and formal unveiling by consulting landscape architects from Murase Associates, and an opportunity for the public to make final comments.

A video report on the unveiling from King5.com can be seen below.

The three-month design process solicited ideas from the community and generated at a brainstorming session in May, focusing on images and icons that define and articulate Hendrix's legacy. Dozens of comments from community members have advocated intimate gathering spaces and performing opportunities, adequate connections to surrounding neighborhoods, functional walkways and seating, and colorful plantings. Scott Murase said the design concept incorporates a variety of landscape and structural elements inspired by Hendrix's writings, music and art that will transform the Central District park into a living tribute to the Seattle native.

Before becoming a park, the property served as a parking lot next to the old Colman School, and now is a swath of turf adjacent to the Northwest African American Museum.

The non-profit Friends Of Jimi Hendrix Park is leading the development process, which envisions a space that will motivate youth and others to achieve in music and art, and strengthen the cultural pulse of the Emerald City as a primary focal point for multi-cultural events, gatherings, and activities for the community.

Funding for the design work and construction of the park development comes from the Parks and Green Spaces Levy, which awarded $500,000 to the project last December, and from a $76,000 Neighborhood Matching Fund grant. Fund-raising activities by the Foundation, such as benefit concerts and online donations, will raise matching private money for park development.

The mission of the Jimi Hendrix Park Foundation is to create a community space inspired by the electrifying music and story of Jimi Hendrix a gathering place for individuals of diverse backgrounds and ages to celebrate cultural heritage, experience community pride, and enjoy innovative educational programming in partnership with the neighboring Northwest African American Museum.

In 2006, Seattle Parks and Recreation renamed the 2.5-acre neighborhood space Jimi Hendrix Park, with the goal of turning it into a community gathering space honoring the Seattle-born artist's extraordinary life and musical legacy.

For more information, visit www.jimihendrixparkfoundation.org.