The famous Meredith Gray Home
Seattle, a city surrounded by Mountain Rainer and the waters of Eliot Bay on one side, and the majestic Cascade Mountains on the other.
In this gorgeous city, framed by nature and many beautiful skyrises, thousands of people are in transit, some to a meeting, others to catch a plane, bus or a ferry, and others to meet a loved one.
But, all of us have one thing in common, writing a new page of the story of our lives every day.
Hidden in the south slope of the beautiful Queen Anne Hill, Kerry Park represents the most iconic viewpoint of our famous Space Needle, as well as breathtaking nature of our Emerald City.
Featured in one of the most famous TV Shows in modern history, “The Grey’s Anatomy, as the location of the main character Meredith Grey’s house, this legendary place is the most popular tourist viewpoint, visited by thousands of tourists monthly.
Just a 10 minutes ride from Downtown Seattle, and boom, you feel like you have the City on your palm.
It’s great for first time visitors, but very much popular within Seattleites, as their choice for quick lunch break, coffee with a friend, or a gorgeous sunset with their loved one.
How Kerry park became what it is today.
However, today I want to tell the beautiful story of how Kerry park became what it is today, and take a trip to the past, precisely all the way to end of the 19th century.
Albert Sperry Kerry, by whom “Kerry Park” was donated and named back in 1927 was an amazing entrepreneur, says his great granddaughter Kerry Rowe. He became involved in the timber industry in the late 1800s, eventually setting up his lumber mill on Pier 70.
Even besides his mill burning down twice, he was resilient and rebuilt it from scratch both times.
“My family gatherings were always focused on my grandfather and his legacy.” Said Ms. Rowe.
This legacy included the largest private logging railroad at the time in Oregon and his founding of the small logging town of Kerriston, just east of Seattle near Rattlesnake Ridge. “He saw opportunity up in Alaska during the Yukon gold rush, and brought a crew and equipment up the pass, setting up a saw mill and building a steamboat to provide ferry service to miners across the lake,” Ms. Rowe continued.
Albert Sperry Kerry had three children and lived with his Wife Katherine on Queen Anne. As a civic leader in his community, he served as VP on the Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition Fair of 1909, and a oversaw the construction of the Olympic Hotel in 1924, which is one of the most prestigious hotels in Seattle, the Fairmont hotel today. 1927, was the year when he decided to do one of the most honorable things, donating a beautiful portion of his land to the city of Seattle, which is now known as Kerry Park.
Carrying the Rowe legacy.
“I am honored to carry his name and his legacy. It’s always great to tell this story to my friends”, concluded Ms. Rowe.
So, if you are visiting Seattle, and you want to breath in a bit of Seattle history, as well as enjoy this iconic viewpoint, go check out Kerry Park, no tickets required, it’s open to the public, because Albert Sperry Kerry provided that for us!
The source for this story is Kerry Rowe, a hip lifelong Seattleite and the great granddaughter of Albert Kerry.
