When you see the Space Needle and the Great Wheel, you instantly know it’s Seattle. The construction fences around Pier 58 come down this Friday, and its one-of-a-kind jellyfish playground is destined to become another Seattle landmark.
“We wanted it to be iconic. Like, T-shirt worthy,” said Melissa Quinn, a play educator for Earthscape, a playground company. “We have never built anything like this. It’s definitely meant to be unique to the city of Seattle.”
Melissa Quinn of Earthscape stands on top of a climbing arch. (Image: JiaYing Grygiel)
Seattle’s newest urban park, Pier 58, is the final chunk of the 15-year, $806 million Waterfront overhaul. Pier 58 was completely torn down and rebuilt, a process that took three years.
“This really is the heart of the waterfront,” said Angela Brady, director of the Office of the Waterfront, Civic Projects and Sound Transit. “This is as central as you can get.”
View of Pier 58 and jellyfish playground from Elliott Bay. (Image: JiaYing Grygiel)
The other parts of the Waterfront are lovely: new bike lanes along Alaskan Way, panoramic views from Overlook Walk, open-air concerts at Pier 62. What makes Pier 58 so special is that this space was designed specifically with families in mind. When Seattle asked parents what downtown needed, the response was overwhelmingly: a playground.
And not just any playground. A playground that was joyous and beautiful.
Seattle delivered.
Sea life-themed playground at Pier 58. (Image: JiaYing Grygiel)
The centerpiece is a 25-foot-tall jellyfish tower. Climbing ropes lead to the top, then enter a metal tube slide and … swoosh!
Caution: Wearing slippery pants greatly increases your chances of shooting off the slide.
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The playground is a climber’s dream come true, with all kinds of ropes and footholds and metal bars to shimmy up and down.
The structures are light and airy, for better sight lines. In keeping with the sea life theme, you’ll find wobbly crabs and a wooden kelp forest around the jellyfish.
“It’s about a level of open-ended play,” Quinn said. “The goal here is it gives kids a reason to come back over and over again.”
The rubber surface is accessible to wheels. (Image: JiaYing Grygiel)
Quinn pointed to the base of the smaller climber, which has a transfer platform and a sloped rubber bridge that jiggles. Not all the pieces of this playground are accessible, because “what’s most important here is access to,” she says. Meaning rubber surfacing instead of wood chips, a playground set flush with the sidewalk, a bridge that leads straight from the Seattle Aquarium’s front door.
Mom Note: The one design element that gives me pause is a slice of water separating the playground from the rest of the Waterfront. The cutout is designed to let sunlight in so algae can grow and be a food source for juvenile salmon. I love juvenile salmon as much as the next Seattle-ite, but my parental instinct worries about kids going for an unplanned swim. The railing here is the same height as the railing all along the Waterfront, and it’s installed with non-climbing wire mesh. All the same, I wish the railing were higher between the playground and the water.
One side of the playground is open to the water below, and I wish the railing on that side were higher. (Image: JiaYing Grygiel)
Park amenities
The playground takes up about a fifth of Pier 58, the corner closest to the Aquarium. The center of the 50,000-square-foot pier is a big open space with tables and chairs and built-in cedar seating. Look for metal inlays on the ground, etched with the depth of the water below and names of sea creatures that live there.
Along the side closer to Miner’s Landing, there’s a turf lawn that slopes gently so you can get a view of the water over the railings. Why turf? “We wanted green space that would stay green year-round,” Brady said.
The turf lawn slopes upward gently so you can get a view over the railing. (Image: JiaYing Grygiel)
Mom Note: Next to the lawn, there’s a grove of six elms that will provide more shade when they mature. Right now, Pier 58 is fully exposed, and it will bake on a hot day. I’m not a sun worshipper (I realize that makes me the odd one out in Seattle), and I wish there were a bit of an overhang.
The Waterfront Fountain sculpture from the old Pier 58 is back. It was originally installed in 1974, and it fell into the water when the pier collapsed in 2020. They fished it out, cleaned it up, and reinstalled it (on new pilings) at the south end of Pier 58.
Waterfront Fountain was reinstalled on the new Pier 58. You can touch it, but not play in it. (Image: JiaYing Grygiel)
The fountain is exactly at toddler height, and you can touch it, but technically, you cannot climb in and play on it. “At the end of the day, it’s an art installation, not a playground thing, as tempting as it is,” said Tiffani Melake, Waterfront Park operations manager at Seattle Center. Good luck keeping people out of it on a blazing hot day.
You’ll find food trucks, pop-ups at the Pier, and yummy seafood along the Waterfront. My kids and I walked past the Pioneer Square Habitat Beach for the holy grail of ice cream, Molly Moon’s. If you don’t feel like walking, take the free shuttle bus that’ll run until late September. It stops right in front of Pier 58 and connects to Seattle Center and Pioneer Square.
A scoop of honey lavender from Molly Moon’s, just south of Habitat Beach. (Image: JiaYing Grygiel)
The energy for Pier 58 is centered around families, and its purpose is to bring locals back, said Joy Shigaki, president and CEO of Friends of Waterfront Park. How do you do that? By keeping the space cared for, clean, with easy access to restrooms.
“We want locals to come, as a way to rediscover the waterfront and a way to rediscover downtown,” Shigaki said.
The Waterfront’s $2 million public restroom is directly across the sidewalk from Pier 58. There are six single stalls, monitored by a full-time concierge. Since opening in March, the restrooms have drawn as many as 2,500 visitors a day. I personally went to check it out and found the stalls sparkling clean.
Seattle’s new waterfront, from Overlook Walk to the jellyfish playground at Pier 58, seen from Elliott Bay. (Image: JiaYing Grygiel)
A word about safety: Downtown Seattle gets a bad rap, and as a mom, I get it. My kids and I are downtown all the time, and I can tell you the Waterfront has really upped Seattle’s game. It has never been safer, friendlier or prettier. For even more peace of mind, know that the Waterfront has security and maintenance working seven days a week, from Pier 62 to the stadiums.
“Twenty-four-seven, we’ve got eyes and hands on the park at all times,” Melake said. Come see for yourself.
Pier 58 jellyfish playground, seen a week before its public grand opening. (Image: JiaYing Grygiel)
Add-on Adventures to Pier 58
- The easiest playground pairing is with the Seattle Aquarium and its expansion, Ocean Pavilion.
- Take a walk over to Pike Place Market via Overlook Walk, which has its own built-in mini-playground.
- Take a water taxi to West Seattle and grab a bite at Marination.
- Walk on to the Bainbridge ferry. Kids 18 and under ride free on the best 35-minute cruise in town.
- The swings outside Colman Dock are comfy like patio seats, not the rubber belts you see at playgrounds.
- Empty your pockets at the arcade at Miner’s Landing, and go for a spin on the iconic Great Wheel.
- Spend a whole 48 hours down on the Waterfront. Want an itinerary? It’s fun!
If You Go
- Pier 58 Jellyfish Playground
- Where: On Alaskan Way, between the Seattle Aquarium and the Great Wheel
- Hours: 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily
- Cost: Free
- Opening celebration: 4 to 8 p.m. Friday, July 15
