Update: Construction started February 1, 2012 - see this My Ballard post, this Ballard News Tribune article and this KOMO Ballard article.

In celebration of Ballard's green spaces, Groundswell NW features and celebrates a "Park of the Month" and the community around it. In September the spotlight was on Kirke Park. Located on the east side of 9th Ave NW between NW 70th and NW 73rd, Kirke Park is Ballard's newest park acquisition. At nearly an acre (39.000sf), it is a significant addition to the community, serving a part of Whittier Heights that previously had no parks.

“Kirke" is a Nordic word meaning "church"and was chosen as the park name to recognize this land as the former site of the Seventh Elect Church in Israel, a small religious sect founded in 1922 by a Midwestern preacher named Daniel Sawlt. The men of the colony were easily recognized by their long hair and beards. In the early days of the church they were often seen preaching downtown on the corner of Pike and Fourth. They also asked for odd jobs in the neighborhood, which alarmed some of the neighbors. Following Sawlt's death in 1929, the colony, which embraced a celibate lifestyle, declined in membership. The church survived for another eighty years, however, until it was officially dissolved in February 2010. Rumors of strange activity among the few last men who lived at the site circulated widely due to the secluded nature of the property. See the project's webpage for more info, and a more detailed history of the park can be found here.

In April 2008, neighbors learned the property was for sale and alerted Groundswell. Quickly the Seattle Parks Department's acquisition staff were brought in, and with money from the 2000 Parks Levy the church land was saved from private development. An active friends of the park group helped convene several public sessions to evaluate plans for the park and helped select Site Workshop as the landscape architect to design the new park. Plans include a P-Patch community garden, as well as a discovery trail and children's play area. Even in its present unfinished form there have been 2 movie nights and several holly sales as well as a couple ice cream socials. Whittier Heights neighbors are delighted that this last large property will be a treasure for years to come.

Construction of the new park features are expected to begin in in the winter of 2012, with completion in the summer of 2012.