It’s been 53 years this month since Discovery Park officially opened to the public on October 28, 1973. The dedication ceremony that day was attended by approximately 300 guests and included speeches from dignitaries such as Mayor Wes Uhlman and Senator Henry M. “Scoop” Jackson. The program finished with a guided half-mile nature walk that concluded at the site of the future Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center, which would open in the park a few years later in 1977.
Discovery Park had been many years in the making. The land had been occupied by Fort Lawton since 1900, and by the 1960s the base had become less active and of less importance to the army. By 1964, when it seemed likely the federal government would decommission the fort and surplus the land, city officials began looking into how to acquire the property and exploring how it could be used.
The public had ideas for the land, too, and soon petitions arrived at City Hall with various proposals. Many called for preserving the natural area as a regional park. Others suggested building a golf course, a cemetery, a children’s home, a shooting range, and an airport – and some believed it should be opened for private development. In 1970, a coordinated effort by Native activists to peaceably occupy the decommissioned fort triggered years of negotiation with city officials to reclaim the land for use by Native peoples, ultimately resulting in the opening of Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center in 1977 (see our online exhibit to learn more.)
SMA has many records on Discovery Park in multiple formats such as documents, photographs, maps, and audio and video recordings. Using these materials helped us create an online exhibit on the park which includes sections on planning and growth, proposed uses, and education and interpretation programming, as well a detailed timeline and a full bibliography. Check it out for much more on how the park was first established, and how it’s continued to evolve and grow over the past 53 years!