 SEATTLE—July
4, 2008—On
the evening of July 4th about 350 people - owners and renters,
old people and young people and families large and small - gathered
to celebrate the opening of The Commons, High Point’s newest park.
The new park
covers just over 3 acres, on the block where the
Neighborhood Center will be built.
Located at the geographic middle of the High Point community, the park is meant
to serve as an informal natural gathering place for neighbors from all over
High Point. Much of the park is a large playfield, which contributes
significantly to High Point’s drainage and helps balance the
impervious streets and home sites with open grassland.
An
amphitheater and mounded viewpoint provide a focal point at the
southwest corner of the park. The mound represents the actual high
point of High Point. It overlooks the amphitheater itself, and has
been sown with wildflower seeds. The mound has an accessible trail
to the top, from which there are sweeping views of the Seattle
skyline and as far north as Mt. Baker.
 The
park was designed by SvR Design.
Construction was completed by Precision Earthworks, a local
landscape and construction firm.
Pomegranate Center was responsible for the amphitheater, which High Point residents
helped to create. “The amphitheater has turned out to be a magical
place,” notes Tom Phillips, High Point’s development manager. “It’s
hard to make an outdoor stage and seating area really work, but
that’s exactly what the folks at the Pomegranate Center
and the residents did. The large boulders give the place a
'Stonehenge' feel, which was very intentional.”
Photos at
left and below courtesy of the
Pomegranate Center
 In
addition to the amphi-theater, the Commons has a community garden, a
playground with a climbing structure for smaller children and a
large open field that accommodates soccer, volleyball and other
active sports. Seven mature trees were preserved on the site.
For Phillips, the opening day was about as successful as it could be.
“It was a great party that brought all the wonderful diversity at
High Point together to celebrate in one place,” he said later. “We
waited a long time to get the park finished, but the wait was worth
it – it’s a very successful place.”
Comments from one
High Point homeowner supported this view when she wrote, "The park
dedication on July Fourth was an excellent example of what can be
done when we work together to further solidify us as a community."
Even though
it has been open only a few weeks, the park has been very well
received. High Point residents are already using it a great deal.
For
amphitheater scheduling information
e-mail Jeannette
Fournier, of the High Point Open Space and Homeowners
Association. She can also be reached by phone at 206-913-0080.
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