A New Threat to Seattle’s Iconic Pacific Science Center

Jan 29, 2025 | Architectural Significance, Community Impact, Historical Context, Preservation Efforts

Per The Cultural Landscape Foundation®:

In February 2023 at a briefing to the Seattle Landmark Preservation Board, the center’s leadership claimed that the two courtyard pools (an upper pool on the courtyard’s north side and a lower pool on its south side) leak or evaporate approximately 71,000 gallons of water a day. Will Daugherty, Pacific Science Center President and CEO, told the board that rehabilitating the pools and the adjacent terrazzo decks would cost an estimated seventeen million dollars. In lieu of rehabilitation, the center’s leadership proposed to fill the south pool with soil and native plants to create an artificial “meadow.”

In September 2023 the water supply to the north pool was stopped, allowing it to dry out. By March 2024, as reported by MyNorthwest, center staff considered temporarily introducing plants or an art installation.

Read the complete article on The Cultural Landscape Foundation® website.

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