Walking on the east side of Volunteer Park, you may have noticed a lot of construction behind the Seattle Asian Art Museum (SAAM). As part of SAAM’s renovation, two historic Olmsted pathways (lost decades ago due to neglect) will be restored. Volunteer Park Trust joined with Friends of Seattle’s Olmsted Parks to have these important historic restorations included as part of the museum renovation.

The image above shows the original 1910 Olmsted Plan for Volunteer Park, with the two lost paths highlighted in orange. The image below shows an aerial view of the park where those paths are being restored.

The changes will improve access for the many visitors entering the park at its southeast corner.

Additionally, SAAM is relocating an existing footpath (shown in red) around the current trees. The new path (shown in blue) will improve safe pedestrian circulation around the museum.

This work is scheduled to be completed by the end of this month, with the site fully restored next spring.