Olympia Site Plan Committee postpones review of Rebecca Howard Park project

The presubmission conference on the proposed project for Rebecca Howard Park was postponed yesterday, August 31, by the Olympia Site Plan Committee. The project would provide community members with a place for peace, healing, education, and inspiration.

According to Community Planning and Development Deputy Director Tim Smith, the city's parks department is currently working on some design considerations. He said the committee would review the project in the future.

In a description submitted by parks planner Sarah Giannobile, the most significant change in the project is converting a section of 9th Avenue to parkland, between the Olympia Timberland Library driveway in the southeast corner and the residential driveway to the west which would increase Rebecca Howard Park's size to around 0.6 acres. 

"The Olympia Parks Planning Department is exploring options for developing this park into a space that celebrates and honors Olympia area Black pioneers. The goal of this park design is to provide the community with a place for peace, healing, education, and inspiration – centered on the stories of Olympia's Black pioneers," stated the narrative.

The park design includes:

A quiet reflection area for reading, writing, etc. Two sharing (small group) areas – one for children and one for adults -- to provide spaces for sharing stories, life experiences, listening, and dialogue. Simple structures are planned for seating and small group interactions.

A large lawn area for connection. Performances, festivals, events, and community space for food, stories, and music. Possibly a stage or large-event performance space.

An area for healing and growth – a calm oasis with healing gardens, ethnobotany, medicinal plants, etc.

An area for inspiration, action and art. A place where people can express their individual and collective energies. This area may contain art, interpretive signage and/or interactive elements (instruments, etc.).

In 2021, the city named the park Rebecca Howard Park, after an early Black settler who owned and operated the Pacific House Hotel from the late 1850s to the 1870s in Olympia. Rebecca developed a reputation for herself as a savvy businesswoman, a fine hostess, and an avid community booster.