Location: Queen Anne/Central Seattle
Address: 1405 Warren Ave. N.
Acreage: 0.8
I was curious to visit the Observatory Courts mostly because I thought it is a very peculiar name for a park, and I wanted to know what there was to observe.
Well, it turns out this park is just two nicely maintained tennis courts on the top of Queen Anne.
However, they do sit in the shadows of a very tall brown structure. I believe the building was originally a water storage tank with an observation gallery on top and is now used by Seattle City Light for radio transmissions. I wish they still let people up into the tower. The view must be outstanding.
This location also used to be a stop on one of Seattle’s old streetcar lines.
It’s an interesting spot to stop, and if you’re a tennis enthusiast you couldn’t ask for a nicer set of courts.
#6 (Visited 8/11/09)