Dottie Harper Park
S.W. 146th & 4th Avenue S.W.
3.5 Acres
Dottie Harper Park lies on land originally tamed by Homer Crosby, who came to the Highline area in 1907. Crosby laid down “Crosby Road” (S.W. 146th Street) from Ambaum to First Avenue South. He also helped build Ambaum Road.
Dottie Harper Park is nestled between the Burien Public Library and Community Center. It houses an art gallery operated by the non-profit Burien Arts Association. The Park, site of Burien’s annual Strawberry and Arts Festival, abounds with mature second-growth firs, with a few scattered cedars, hemlocks and native hardwoods. Sword ferns, salal, snowberry, oceanspray, red elderberry, Oregon grape and other native species dominate the undergrowth.
Dottie Harper was Burien’s “Betsy Ross, chief promoter, publicity agent, school and civic planner and representative.” She was a tireless community activist, member of the State Arts Commission, King County Arts Commission and Historic Preservation Board, co-chairman of the Seahurst Park Committee, chairman of the Burien Bi-centennial Committee, city of Burien Councilmember and Chairman of its Arts Committee. All such activity was a voluntary, full-time pursuit.
As a young woman, Dottie attended a missionary school in Shanghai—her father was a Marine Corps officer—and high school and college in California. She excelled in arts and crafts at San Diego State College, receiving so many requests to design and sew clothing that she went into business for herself.
Dottie and her husband Paul settled near Lake Burien in 1949. Mrs. Harper worked with park boards to create more small parks, helping to get a park bond passed which funded Moshier Park. She led the fight to save Miller Creek from uncontrolled Highway 509 construction, helped found Highline Community College and the community’s first arts gallery.
In the early 1970s, the landscape architect planning King County Park #10 asked Northwest artist and sculptor Richard Beyer to design playground equipment and a sculpture. Beyer is the creator of more than 75 commissioned sculptures throughout the world. His work "Waiting for the Interurban," in Fremont, is probably Seattle's most popular piece of public art. Beyer’s works in stone, bronze, aluminum, brick and wood adorn and enliven many public places, including four bas-relief panels in Des Moines City Hall, and the intriguing bronze sculpture “The Big Catch” in Des Moines City Park.
Beyer’s main piece in Dottie Harper Park is a large cedar "old growth" stump from Snohomish County, signifying the Northwest's vanishing virgin forests. Beyer cleaned it and, adding more cedar pieces, carved life-sized figures ("some appearing much like the people in the Fremont figures") encircling its base, "dancing to bring it back to life."
A unique drinking fountain was also made by running plumbing through a huge granite boulder; a sculpted frog adorns the spigot. Small buffaloes made of laminated hardwood and mounted on pipes stood nearby, ready for children to ride. There was also a mathematical game with pebbles in carved cups in a cedar log. As of 1999, all of the pieces except the stump were deteriorated or in need of refurbishing. The cedar stump remained intact and "polished" from more than 25 years of children climbing on it.
Other artists use the park to create and display outdoor exhibits—some of them interactive—in conjunction with the Burien Strawberry & Arts Festival and other local events.
The Burien Arts Gallery in Dottie Harper Park is a gathering point for the arts of the greater Burien area. In addition to the annual Arts Festival, the Gallery promotes dance, painting, sculpting, ceramics, weaving, ballet, creative activities for children, acting, singing, youth and adult symphony, literary arts, book reviews, poetry, flower arranging, local history, exhibits and nature.
The all-volunteer Gallery primarily displays and sells the works of local artists. The basement of the main building and the adjoining building (formerly a garage) are used as classrooms and workshops. The annual Strawberry & Arts Festival attracts thousands of visitors, providing entertainment, refreshments and interaction with local artists and vendors
On March 10, 1994 the deed for Burien Park, as it was known, was given to the city of Burien by King County. In 1995 the Burien City Council, recognizing Dottie Harper as “a guiding light in promoting parks, arts, recreation, and cultural programs,” passed an ordinance officially designating the 4.5-acre parcel as Dottie Harper Park.
“Burien Park” was officially renamed “Dottie Harper Park” in a ceremony on July 1, 1995 at the Burien Arts Gallery.
The park, within walking distance of hundreds of apartments and single-family homes, provides a place for interpreting the ecosystems in an urban forest, and for strolling, picnicking and wildlife viewing. The December 15, 2006 windstorm inflicted some damage to the park, uprooting trees, leaving others dangerously leaning and damaging park fixtures.
This project was
developed through a Heritage Special Projects Program grant funded by
4Culture and with the assistance
of the
Highline
Historical Society.
