Gas Works Park faces a deadline to remove hazardous features from its iconic towers after a teen’s death.
SEATTLE — The clock is ticking for Seattle Parks and Recreation.
Friday marks the deadline to remove safety hazards at Gas Works Park — or face $500-a-day fines from the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections. The push comes after a 15-year-old boy died last summer after falling from one of the park’s iconic industrial structures.
The structures at the center of the debate have been fenced off with barb wire at the top of it for years. Visitors say the landmark still draws crowds for its unmatched views of the Seattle skyline — but the experience is changing.
“It’s such an iconic spot here in Seattle. You don’t get these views anywhere else,” said Rick Barlow, who was visiting the park.
For more than 50 years, the towering remnants of the former gasification plant have defined Gas Works Park — blending history, art, and public space. But the structures have also been tied to multiple serious incidents.
Court records show at least three deaths and 11 serious injuries connected to falls from the towers since 2008.
In July, 15-year-old Mattheis Johnson died after falling from one of those structures. His family has since filed a lawsuit, alleging the city knew about the dangers but failed to act.
“It’s tragic. You can’t deny that,” Barlow said. “That family is going to feel that forever.”
In response, the city has spent the past several weeks removing access points — including stairs, catwalks, and ladders — in an effort to keep people off the structures.
Some visitors say those changes have altered the character of the park.
“Without that, it’s been stripped of those character-defining features,” Barlow said.
Preservation advocates argue the city’s approach goes too far.
Eugenia Woo with Historic Seattle says the issue shouldn’t be framed as a choice between safety and preservation.
“The narrative has been very binary. It’s been either safety or preservation. And to us, it’s always been both,” Woo said.
She also criticized the city for what she calls years of neglect.
“Rather than maintaining or repairing and securing the structures, it was left to deteriorate,” Woo said. “This is demolition by neglect.”
For now, the towers still stand — but with far fewer ways to climb them.
“It is a defining factor of Gas Works Park. It’s always been that, and I think it always will be,” Barlow said.
Seattle Parks and Recreation has not responded to requests for comment on the latest work as of Friday evening.
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