Long before NYC's High Line became the poster child for the field of landscape architecture, urban renewal and brownfields around the world... there was Gas Works Park. As an abandoned gas processing plant along the shores of Lake Union, it was rehabilitated to become one of Seattle's best public open spaces. The chemically compromised soil was remediated and the dangerous and toxic "guts" of the plant were removed. Green grass was sown and the plant's body was impregnated with a colorful children's playground.
The awesome scale of the remaining shell of the plant is absurdly fantastic as any grown adult standing by it feels instantly minute. If only more public open spaces had the ability to make us all feel like kids again.
