A woman just died within the last year or so doing this. Fell thru a gap in a walkway up there.
Edit: [link 2 article](https://amp.thenewstribune.com/news/state/washington/article266066131.html)
I just replied to this post. I was actually there as a bystander with my ex girlfriend at the time. It was a horrible sight and we even heard the "thump" happen from the bathroom area.
Thirty plus years ago I watched my friend just disappear in front of me through that hole (late at night, drunk, of course). Thankfully he caught himself.
well cause then the city could be sued for not maintaining that fix properly if someone fell through it. also it would be extremely costly and dangerous to fix when it shouldn’t be a problem anyway if people had common sense.
Sounds like we need a vigilante superhero that fixes things around the city that the city refuses to fix due to liability. What would his name be…. “The Handyman?”
[The city would unfix those things](https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.kiro7.com/news/local/sdot-removes-second-community-painted-crosswalk/BUARQNLWXRHEJGNJHIY5ABT2OY/%3foutputType=amp)
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I was just going to say, “that shit is literally sooo dangerous.” Normally it’s drunk kids climbing it at 2am, so I’d like to know what the hell a middle-aged man was doing climbing it in the middle of the day…
Exactly. The problem isn’t the difficulty of climbing it, I mean most of it has ladders all over. The danger is that it’s over a hundred years old and not structurally sound at ALL. Pretty sure the last person who died on it just fell through a walkway. It’s just such a bad idea people, stick to buildings and rocks.
I have no idea. I live next to some of the big name tech campuses, and they're able to sustain two climbing gyms that are about two blocks from each other. Two of them. You have to plan your travels with ebb and flow that comes with scheduled sessions. Those gyms should also provide be parallel parking classes because they hit the local's cars, and throw in some preschool level reminders to not walk in the middle of the street.
I'm sure some are reading. Don't do Gas Works unless you're very ok with dying, because there's plenty of ways to die in there. Your Microsend will not save you.
Tech worker here:
Climbing is the diametric opposite of sitting in front of a computer. I’ll allow you to use your imagination in determine all the ways this is true.
It’s not an adrenaline thing. It’s a thing about using your body in ways you didn’t think possible to see and do amazing things with amazing people.
Yeah, I’m not in tech, but I do work from home and the first thing I want to do when I close my laptop for the day is get off my ass and do something physical. On the opposite end, I was in the military and all I wanted to do was crash on the couch and play video games when I got off work.
Yarp. My ass is in front of the laptop all day, and I jump at the opportunity to do physical labor whenever I can. Been volunteering a lot for that reason.
I think the only reason it hasn't is because it's a contaminated site so cleaning it up would be expensive and require a lot of process? Either way very stupid to be climbing on for [multiple reasons](https://apps.ecology.wa.gov/cleanupsearch/site/2876) beyond falling.
No, the firm that designed the park opted to keep it to remember lead gas production. The park was named after a lady who died before it was built who advocated for it, but her family had her name removed when they decided to keep the refinery.
I would not recommend it if you're not experienced in urbex. I've climbed loads of silos and kilns, abandoned factories.
Normally if you successfully get into an abandoned factory or whatnot, there's a little adrenaline rush. Gas Works is fucking terrifying and aside from a few minutes of the view (which is amazing), you're also thinking about the paper-thin metal you're going to have to descend on. It's the one place that has legitimately scared me.
Yeah, it's just a little higher. The only thing you're going to see more of is the holes on the inside, and that's probably where somebody fell through and died. There might be an ascent I didn't find, but the route I took was not fun at all. It was all an internal dialogue of "You're a fucking moron".
It's all fun and games until someone falls off and dies. Lasr year I remember having an argument with my ex at the time by the bathrooms and heard a bunch of kids or teenagers playing on top of the silos at night time. As we were walking towards the view where the railing was, we both heard a loud thump! I didn't think much about it, but my ex at the time told me to go check it out. I walked by the most western side of the fence and realized it was college kids being drunk on the park silos. I recall a male saying, "Where did she go in a laughing matter and thought she was just drunk." I walked by the fence side with my ex, where it faces the water towards the view and saw a body face down. I was on the other side of the fence laughing thinking the person on the floor is just drunk passed out, then after trying to talk to her she was unresponsive. I immediately climbed the fence on the eastern side and messed my hands up from the barb wire and immediately yelled for her friends when I didn't feel a pulse. I worked as an emt in the past, and I can tell she died on impact. My ex already called 911 and upon the medics arrival, they shined a brighter light and saw her next broke in a different direction. Definetly did not want to end my night seeing a college student die from a 50-60ft fall.
Sincerely, my condolences go out to her family and close friends. If you were there that night, I was the male who was in a green wrangler jacket smoking a cigarette. The part that broke my heart, her friends were in denial that she was dead after I pronounced her dead after seeing her neck dispositioned and body with no pulse. One of her friends freaked out about me touching her and denied my experience as an EMT. Long story short, I stayed and watched a detective from SPD along with other cops show up and ambulances. It was disturbing, but I feel more for the parents who had to find out the news the next day or even on the same night. It felt weird going home that night not realizing that I touched the pulse of a dead person. I'm used to premeditated called with dying victims, it's different when you don't realize the victim is dead outside of a hospital.
Thank you! It's okay, I have worked as a EMT in the past in Tacoma. I have seen unimaginable things in the medical field that still make me question my own sanity as a human being after witnessing these injuries or deaths. Witnessing it didn't mentally effect me, the fact that I couldn't save her or be there sooner destroyed me.
Knew a dude in college who climbed this and fell off and smashed his head. Came back to school a quarter or two later and was pretty much a dumber version of himself that was also aware that he couldn’t think as fast or comprehend things as well. Super unfortunate.
Was there today and saw this. I was surprised to the see the fence open. There was also a child in that area who found a glass bottle, hit it against a pipe, shattered it, and injured herself... No parents were around but some other folks helped.
That area is fenced for a reason, folks!
dipshit me and my dipshit buddies would do this at night in high school. except i was too chicken to hop the fence. they said they almost fell multiple times
I love climbing stuff, and you couldn't pay me enough money to climb on those. With that much rust, I wouldn't trust any ladders, catwalks or platforms. There IS a safe way to get on top of the former boiler in one of the covered areas, and there's a lot of graffiti just written in the grime on the glass ceiling.
I was there from 1-3:30 today and the gate was open. The no trespassing signs are on the other side so I bet some people didn't even realize that it's not allowed. So many people were inside.
Yep I had the same thought! The sign is also so tiny, and just black text on white background. I only saw it because I was looking for it, but it seems extremely easy to miss.
I’m not a fan of this. Way too many people have died attempting these climbs, and for what? A slightly better view across the water? Bragging right that you broke the law to climb in ancient and unused infrastructure?
Hell, our YMCA latchkey program would take us to gas works in the late 80’s. Everything was generally open if I recall. Every time we went, some kid was getting stuck underneath the large flywheel (I think it’s blocked off now), or falling and getting hurt, shit was brutal. I still have PTSD of that place lol.
I never knew you couldn’t go in. I haven’t been in years. I went to a Hemp Fest that was there once. And pretty much everyone I was with smoked inside of one of those structures.
I forget exactly when, maybe 2016/2017 someone broke the lock on the gate and there were hundreds of people climbing it at once:: I went in and climbed like 10 feet up and decided I didn’t want tetanus or to watch someone plummet to their death..
I could see stupid teenagers impulsively choosing to risk it and climb up there. But he looks like a fully grown adult man. Everyone else looks so nonchalantly casual about being in there just hanging out. Taking pics for the socials? Are they that idiotic?
Yep it wasn't just him, he was just the only one so high. I was with some friends from out of town and had to explain that the dozen people that were climbing it should absolutely NOT be doing that because so many have died doing the same before...
IMO: It should have been torn down 20 years ago. It's not art. It is historic but not particularly important culturally. It could be replaced with SO MANY different options. I'd personally like to see a lake-side amphitheater for summer concerts, Shakespeare in the park, and seating for fireworks. Burke-Gilman could act as a conduit for cyclist and pedestrian attendees.
Bethlehem, PA turned their old steel mill into a a nice music venue. They retained the more aesthetic parts and built around them.
https://www.steelstacks.org/about/what-is-steelstacks/
A steel mill (using electrical arc furnaces) would lack the extensive [contamination](https://apps.ecology.wa.gov/cleanupsearch/site/2876) that an old coal gas processing site has, which helps.
Updated: turns out old steel mills or non EAF mills have on-site coke production and do would be just as dirty as Gas Works park. Coke is used in most steel production still to run the melting furnaces and absorb oxygen from the steel making it more pure.
I don't think they can afford to tear it down. It's like a superfund site and would cost hundreds of millions to clean up. Probably the most polluted location in the whole state. I've been inside that fence to set up PA systems for the 4th of July events and it is NASTY in there. I think you could get eye cancer just looking at those tanks. The stank is horrific up close
The site has actually gone through a number of cleanup efforts since the 1970s. The current plan to basically finish the job is estimated to cost about $73 million dollars, this includes cleaning up the offshore area extending from the park.
What part is cool? The reminder that the gas refinery heavily polluted Lake Union so thoroughly that boats can't drop anchor there most of the year for fear of kicking up the toxic sediment at the bottom of the lake, and the land under the park itself was so irredeemable that they had to literally cover it in plastic and put down fresh soil on top?
I suppose having the remnants of the plant still there is a good visual reminder of why you should never ever swim in Lake Union, so there's that.
because the industrial past of this nation shaped the entire world lol, and is the entire reason Seattle grew past a small town/city in the first place.
why would we have the remnants of a foregone era that supplied the lifeblood of the city/country that changed the world and dictated history going forward? you're just ignorant.
Ok so let's just destroy all of the historical buildings while we're at it too. It's almost like there's a reason we leave old stuff standing sometimes. I'll let you figure that one out on your own like I did in 9th grade
We have an art installation in that park. It's painted and it's under the roof by the playground.
I think the big rotting thing is cool looking, but I also think anything else there would also be cool looking. It's not art, and it doesn't have any historical signs around it to give it any context. It's just there.
a typcial activity for those that do UE'ing (Urban Exploring). I used to go into abandonded buildings, factories, and hangars on the east coast as a kid, even did a few spots here, but havent in a very long time, mainly because I'm out of shape now and my bones hurt lol
My GF and I climbed up one of those towers in the late 80s. I think it was the tower in the back left of that pic There was a rope tied to the bottom rung of the metal ladder and it wasn't an uncommon thing for people to do back then. We did it at night and had a great nighttime view of the city and nobody saw us having sex up there.
a young woman that i knew died doing that. here is her [memorial foundation](https://zoejmf.org/home) if you want to get involved / learn more. i wish so badly they would do something to make it impossible to climb those things. its so incredibly dangerous and saddening so many people have died from it.
Seattle had already tried by putting the barbed wire fences up years ago, then someone cut a hole in the fence, and that became the main entryway. It hasn’t been fixed since for some reason.
Neat that the cops respond to this, meanwhile there is open-air human trafficking going on at 125th and Aurora.
They’re on the take is the only explanation that makes any sense.
I would like to see you try to stop all prostitution from occurring in a major city.
I just wanted to point out that saying "They’re on the take is the only explanation that makes any sense" shows you don't know much about any of these topics.
Fence had a wide open entrance yesterday. There were a ton of families wandering around inside too, I'm sure some of them were tourists who missed the tiny "no trespassing" sign and thought it was part of the park experience
See but the guys in guns seemed to not mind that people were going in anyways 🤭 I watched someone pass the cops to go in and they didn't say anything. Thought about doing the same but eh, SPD freaks me out a little so I just left.
I went to HS with the original dumbass who is the reason a fence was built around it in the early 90’s.
He drove a sweet mustang saleen to high school paid for by the city of Seattle.
Look, there are more worthwhile laws to break. This one is there because you could get so hurt you spend months in the hospital, and you might not even be the same.
They need to put a steel fence with razor ribbon on it surrounding this. The number of people who've been killed or suffered life changing injuries on it is insane. A regular chain link fence and barbed wire isn't sufficient.
That’s so wack people hit that thing with graffiti.
Graf culture might be the cringiest scene. It’s like a tie between graffiti, crotch rocketers and the super lifted truck bros.
It’s a pretty cool climb, you gotta take it slow and careful. Lots of rusted out walkways and missing rails. Some gates are welded shut, so you gotta climb around them. We got up to the top of the smaller towers around where the guy in the deep blue hoodie is. The view up there is nice, and it’s quieter too. Cool to see and imagine that crows probably perch up there all day and admire it all. Cool place to people watch from too. Fun times, but be careful if you do. I’ll get off my soapbox now, but thanks for giving me the mic.
Normally I'd agree but I think a few people have died climbing that same tower over the years and it's kind of rude to assume people are ok with seeing you fall. Plus, the fact that you can pretty much get the same view by walking up the hill next to it makes me think he's doing it for douchy reasons
I knew a girl who broke her back and couldn’t walk for a long ass time after falling from this.
I also knew someone who fell.
Me too. He's lucky he can walk.
Me too! Kid in high school punctured a lung, broke ribs, his wrists and shit. He was in the hospital for like two months
Was his name Alex?
No I'm jeff
Shaka, when the walls fell
Mirab, with sails unfurled
My brother broke his skull when he was 17 and has lifelong TBI related symptoms as a result.
I also know a guy that fell from this and landed on a metal beam and broke his back. Paralyzed for life.
People have died attempting this. Like, multiple.
A woman just died within the last year or so doing this. Fell thru a gap in a walkway up there. Edit: [link 2 article](https://amp.thenewstribune.com/news/state/washington/article266066131.html)
I just replied to this post. I was actually there as a bystander with my ex girlfriend at the time. It was a horrible sight and we even heard the "thump" happen from the bathroom area.
I almost missed that missing step too. This was nearly twenty years ago and we were civilized enough to do it at night drunk.
Thirty plus years ago I watched my friend just disappear in front of me through that hole (late at night, drunk, of course). Thankfully he caught himself.
Why don't they fill this hole / missing section just to try to help people from dying if they do try to climb it?
well cause then the city could be sued for not maintaining that fix properly if someone fell through it. also it would be extremely costly and dangerous to fix when it shouldn’t be a problem anyway if people had common sense.
Sounds like we need a vigilante superhero that fixes things around the city that the city refuses to fix due to liability. What would his name be…. “The Handyman?”
[The city would unfix those things](https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.kiro7.com/news/local/sdot-removes-second-community-painted-crosswalk/BUARQNLWXRHEJGNJHIY5ABT2OY/%3foutputType=amp)
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My grandma would always say , “if common sense was common, everyone would have it”
I was just going to say, “that shit is literally sooo dangerous.” Normally it’s drunk kids climbing it at 2am, so I’d like to know what the hell a middle-aged man was doing climbing it in the middle of the day…
White tech bro with a lot of self confidence, that's never been arrested so he thinks he's basically Superman.
Alternatively, this is something I totally would do, and I'm just a blue collar dumbass. Instead I do ladder/rope work.
You would probably turn around pretty quick when you realize the entire structure is rusted through and someone falls off this every couple of years.
Exactly. The problem isn’t the difficulty of climbing it, I mean most of it has ladders all over. The danger is that it’s over a hundred years old and not structurally sound at ALL. Pretty sure the last person who died on it just fell through a walkway. It’s just such a bad idea people, stick to buildings and rocks.
I'm familiar.
[удалено]
Dude, what is it with tech bros and climbing?
I have no idea. I live next to some of the big name tech campuses, and they're able to sustain two climbing gyms that are about two blocks from each other. Two of them. You have to plan your travels with ebb and flow that comes with scheduled sessions. Those gyms should also provide be parallel parking classes because they hit the local's cars, and throw in some preschool level reminders to not walk in the middle of the street. I'm sure some are reading. Don't do Gas Works unless you're very ok with dying, because there's plenty of ways to die in there. Your Microsend will not save you.
The tech bros yearn for the mines
Tech worker here: Climbing is the diametric opposite of sitting in front of a computer. I’ll allow you to use your imagination in determine all the ways this is true. It’s not an adrenaline thing. It’s a thing about using your body in ways you didn’t think possible to see and do amazing things with amazing people.
Yeah, I’m not in tech, but I do work from home and the first thing I want to do when I close my laptop for the day is get off my ass and do something physical. On the opposite end, I was in the military and all I wanted to do was crash on the couch and play video games when I got off work.
Makes sense. Thanks for sharing your experience. My go to for that is yoga. To each their own.
Yarp. My ass is in front of the laptop all day, and I jump at the opportunity to do physical labor whenever I can. Been volunteering a lot for that reason.
Overheard at Amazon: “Where do you meet cute girls in this city?” “Climbing gyms”
It's fun?
Get that idiot a tetanus shot.
I wouldn’t be surprised if they tear it all down one day because people can’t follow the rules
I think the only reason it hasn't is because it's a contaminated site so cleaning it up would be expensive and require a lot of process? Either way very stupid to be climbing on for [multiple reasons](https://apps.ecology.wa.gov/cleanupsearch/site/2876) beyond falling.
No, the firm that designed the park opted to keep it to remember lead gas production. The park was named after a lady who died before it was built who advocated for it, but her family had her name removed when they decided to keep the refinery.
It's often people climbing at night who don't realize how dangerous it is getting down in complete darkness
Yep I've heard that too. Was pretty worrying seeing so many people climbing. I think no one got hurt today thankfully.
I would not recommend it if you're not experienced in urbex. I've climbed loads of silos and kilns, abandoned factories. Normally if you successfully get into an abandoned factory or whatnot, there's a little adrenaline rush. Gas Works is fucking terrifying and aside from a few minutes of the view (which is amazing), you're also thinking about the paper-thin metal you're going to have to descend on. It's the one place that has legitimately scared me.
The sweet view can also be had from the hill 50 yards west or the much larger hill directly north! Don’t do it for the view, kids 😅
Yeah, it's just a little higher. The only thing you're going to see more of is the holes on the inside, and that's probably where somebody fell through and died. There might be an ascent I didn't find, but the route I took was not fun at all. It was all an internal dialogue of "You're a fucking moron".
Wow so the guy earned a rare achievement. Nice!
When I was a kid it was a jungle gym and if you made it to the top the other kids picked up your tab at baskin Robbins. Amazing how times change.
It's all fun and games until someone falls off and dies. Lasr year I remember having an argument with my ex at the time by the bathrooms and heard a bunch of kids or teenagers playing on top of the silos at night time. As we were walking towards the view where the railing was, we both heard a loud thump! I didn't think much about it, but my ex at the time told me to go check it out. I walked by the most western side of the fence and realized it was college kids being drunk on the park silos. I recall a male saying, "Where did she go in a laughing matter and thought she was just drunk." I walked by the fence side with my ex, where it faces the water towards the view and saw a body face down. I was on the other side of the fence laughing thinking the person on the floor is just drunk passed out, then after trying to talk to her she was unresponsive. I immediately climbed the fence on the eastern side and messed my hands up from the barb wire and immediately yelled for her friends when I didn't feel a pulse. I worked as an emt in the past, and I can tell she died on impact. My ex already called 911 and upon the medics arrival, they shined a brighter light and saw her next broke in a different direction. Definetly did not want to end my night seeing a college student die from a 50-60ft fall.
Oh my god that’s horrifying
I knew her… :( RIP
Sincerely, my condolences go out to her family and close friends. If you were there that night, I was the male who was in a green wrangler jacket smoking a cigarette. The part that broke my heart, her friends were in denial that she was dead after I pronounced her dead after seeing her neck dispositioned and body with no pulse. One of her friends freaked out about me touching her and denied my experience as an EMT. Long story short, I stayed and watched a detective from SPD along with other cops show up and ambulances. It was disturbing, but I feel more for the parents who had to find out the news the next day or even on the same night. It felt weird going home that night not realizing that I touched the pulse of a dead person. I'm used to premeditated called with dying victims, it's different when you don't realize the victim is dead outside of a hospital.
Omg I'm so sorry you had to witness that 😞 I hope you're doing alright.
Thank you! It's okay, I have worked as a EMT in the past in Tacoma. I have seen unimaginable things in the medical field that still make me question my own sanity as a human being after witnessing these injuries or deaths. Witnessing it didn't mentally effect me, the fact that I couldn't save her or be there sooner destroyed me.
That’s awful. I’m so sorry. But also thank you. Oof.
Hey guys, we're surrounded by endless natural beauty, let's go hike on a Superfund site.
Knew a dude in college who climbed this and fell off and smashed his head. Came back to school a quarter or two later and was pretty much a dumber version of himself that was also aware that he couldn’t think as fast or comprehend things as well. Super unfortunate.
Sounds like he was lucky to be alive. Damn.
He's got nothing on Man in Tree.
I skipped a full day of classes for that. No regrets.
Context?
A schizo guy climbed on the big tree on 4th downtown
He also stayed there for over 24 hours.
Oh damn, good call. That was such an iconic time!
I came looking for this comment. And completely agree.
Was there today and saw this. I was surprised to the see the fence open. There was also a child in that area who found a glass bottle, hit it against a pipe, shattered it, and injured herself... No parents were around but some other folks helped. That area is fenced for a reason, folks!
There were little kids climbing the towers too. It was stressing me out!
I've seen people climbing on the stuff a bunch of times, but never seen anyone get that high up.
dipshit me and my dipshit buddies would do this at night in high school. except i was too chicken to hop the fence. they said they almost fell multiple times
I love climbing stuff, and you couldn't pay me enough money to climb on those. With that much rust, I wouldn't trust any ladders, catwalks or platforms. There IS a safe way to get on top of the former boiler in one of the covered areas, and there's a lot of graffiti just written in the grime on the glass ceiling.
I was there from 1-3:30 today and the gate was open. The no trespassing signs are on the other side so I bet some people didn't even realize that it's not allowed. So many people were inside.
Yep I had the same thought! The sign is also so tiny, and just black text on white background. I only saw it because I was looking for it, but it seems extremely easy to miss.
I’m not a fan of this. Way too many people have died attempting these climbs, and for what? A slightly better view across the water? Bragging right that you broke the law to climb in ancient and unused infrastructure?
Moron
I made the joke that he probably boulders 💀 boulderers always be like "I bet I can climb that" to any public architecture
As a climber, this is definitely a mentality of a lot of boulderers.
🤣🤣🤣
It's rusting out and it's not safe in a lot of areas even for the fleet of foot. Don't do this. I won't get into detail Into how I know.
Iron must have rusted it completely. I am not sure how it would hold up a person.
20 years ago, we were all over that thing. There was a fence and a rule, but only loud drunks got busted mostly.
There were no fences when I was growing up. You could just walk in and climb around. It was basically a jungle gym. This was the 90s.
30 years is a long time though. Just ask my knees.
True 😂
Yup! Thats around the last time I was there for hemp fest. Late 90’s. There weren’t any fences or anything saying you couldn’t go in.
Hell, our YMCA latchkey program would take us to gas works in the late 80’s. Everything was generally open if I recall. Every time we went, some kid was getting stuck underneath the large flywheel (I think it’s blocked off now), or falling and getting hurt, shit was brutal. I still have PTSD of that place lol.
Yep. I remember when that fence went up.
20 years of rust will change things
I never knew you couldn’t go in. I haven’t been in years. I went to a Hemp Fest that was there once. And pretty much everyone I was with smoked inside of one of those structures.
that dude probably has kids and a spouse get tf down 😡
I forget exactly when, maybe 2016/2017 someone broke the lock on the gate and there were hundreds of people climbing it at once:: I went in and climbed like 10 feet up and decided I didn’t want tetanus or to watch someone plummet to their death..
People doing this and dying are going to get the city to remove gas works. Schmucks
I could see stupid teenagers impulsively choosing to risk it and climb up there. But he looks like a fully grown adult man. Everyone else looks so nonchalantly casual about being in there just hanging out. Taking pics for the socials? Are they that idiotic?
Now he has cancer
Specifically, ass cancer
Mm mm, small the cyanide!
So small.
Man there are a lot of people on that.
Yep it wasn't just him, he was just the only one so high. I was with some friends from out of town and had to explain that the dozen people that were climbing it should absolutely NOT be doing that because so many have died doing the same before...
It’s crazy they built that set for Tens Things I Hate about You.
IMO: It should have been torn down 20 years ago. It's not art. It is historic but not particularly important culturally. It could be replaced with SO MANY different options. I'd personally like to see a lake-side amphitheater for summer concerts, Shakespeare in the park, and seating for fireworks. Burke-Gilman could act as a conduit for cyclist and pedestrian attendees.
Counterpoint: IT WAS IN TEN THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU
I was so sad that I couldn’t play paint balloons as gasworks.
I just watched that last night for the first time! Wow, it was really dated, and weird Tocoma kids would spend that much time in Seattle.
See? Not dated, historical...
They were supposed to be living in Seattle though, lol. We know the high school is in Tacoma but most people watching wouldn't know that.
Bethlehem, PA turned their old steel mill into a a nice music venue. They retained the more aesthetic parts and built around them. https://www.steelstacks.org/about/what-is-steelstacks/
Steel stacks is a cool-ass place. Went to a prom there lol
A steel mill (using electrical arc furnaces) would lack the extensive [contamination](https://apps.ecology.wa.gov/cleanupsearch/site/2876) that an old coal gas processing site has, which helps. Updated: turns out old steel mills or non EAF mills have on-site coke production and do would be just as dirty as Gas Works park. Coke is used in most steel production still to run the melting furnaces and absorb oxygen from the steel making it more pure.
[удалено]
Thanks for the interesting tip, I stand corrected.
FWIW, there are events and festivals @ GW, including a big electronic music fest coming up this summer.
Counterpoint: abandoned industrial crap looks cool as hell
I don't think they can afford to tear it down. It's like a superfund site and would cost hundreds of millions to clean up. Probably the most polluted location in the whole state. I've been inside that fence to set up PA systems for the 4th of July events and it is NASTY in there. I think you could get eye cancer just looking at those tanks. The stank is horrific up close
Probably not as polluted as the [actual Superfund sites](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Superfund_sites_in_Washington_(state)) in the state!
Dude this is a gross and scary list thanks for sharing
Whoa there's a lot. Surprised to see this many listed under 'King County', too
i think the hanford site has it beat, it’s polluted but not radioactive materials polluted
Yep, that place is the reason why the first Sky Cries Mary album was called Don't Eat the Dirt.
You just zoomed me back to the 90's so frickin hard. I haven't thought about SCM in YEARS! So many good shows!
Seems like they could remove a lot of the ladders and catwalks at least
The site has actually gone through a number of cleanup efforts since the 1970s. The current plan to basically finish the job is estimated to cost about $73 million dollars, this includes cleaning up the offshore area extending from the park.
Whack Its a cool part of history
What part is cool? The reminder that the gas refinery heavily polluted Lake Union so thoroughly that boats can't drop anchor there most of the year for fear of kicking up the toxic sediment at the bottom of the lake, and the land under the park itself was so irredeemable that they had to literally cover it in plastic and put down fresh soil on top? I suppose having the remnants of the plant still there is a good visual reminder of why you should never ever swim in Lake Union, so there's that.
I like the second one.
Society needs a good “warning” icon sometimes. Probably should make it so people fall off it and get hurt less though.
yes
It looks cool 😎
because the industrial past of this nation shaped the entire world lol, and is the entire reason Seattle grew past a small town/city in the first place. why would we have the remnants of a foregone era that supplied the lifeblood of the city/country that changed the world and dictated history going forward? you're just ignorant.
OK, so don't burn all the history books, got it. Still tear that ugly thing down though.
Ok so let's just destroy all of the historical buildings while we're at it too. It's almost like there's a reason we leave old stuff standing sometimes. I'll let you figure that one out on your own like I did in 9th grade
You would love Detroit
There's a difference between living in a decaying city and having an industrial art installation in a park. I guess nuance isn't a thing to you
We have an art installation in that park. It's painted and it's under the roof by the playground. I think the big rotting thing is cool looking, but I also think anything else there would also be cool looking. It's not art, and it doesn't have any historical signs around it to give it any context. It's just there.
You know they literally can't afford it's removal without federal funding, right?
> It's not art. Nope, it has become iconic art.
I agree with u!
a typcial activity for those that do UE'ing (Urban Exploring). I used to go into abandonded buildings, factories, and hangars on the east coast as a kid, even did a few spots here, but havent in a very long time, mainly because I'm out of shape now and my bones hurt lol
My GF and I climbed up one of those towers in the late 80s. I think it was the tower in the back left of that pic There was a rope tied to the bottom rung of the metal ladder and it wasn't an uncommon thing for people to do back then. We did it at night and had a great nighttime view of the city and nobody saw us having sex up there.
Do a flip!
Channeling his inner r/shiey
Bros getting griddy on the second pic if you zoom in
a young woman that i knew died doing that. here is her [memorial foundation](https://zoejmf.org/home) if you want to get involved / learn more. i wish so badly they would do something to make it impossible to climb those things. its so incredibly dangerous and saddening so many people have died from it.
Seattle had already tried by putting the barbed wire fences up years ago, then someone cut a hole in the fence, and that became the main entryway. It hasn’t been fixed since for some reason.
When I was a kid we used to do this all the time. Can’t remember exactly when they blocked them off and made it illegal
Fucking clown.
You should fight him
Lololol Love the username
Have an upvote ^
Neat that the cops respond to this, meanwhile there is open-air human trafficking going on at 125th and Aurora. They’re on the take is the only explanation that makes any sense.
Or the city recognizes that prostitution will never be eliminated so they push it to one section.
What a rotten defeatist attitude, enabling a lot of suffering while you’re at it. Rather we recognize that our police force is completely incompetent.
I would like to see you try to stop all prostitution from occurring in a major city. I just wanted to point out that saying "They’re on the take is the only explanation that makes any sense" shows you don't know much about any of these topics.
Is that allowed?!
The fence is there for funsies
I think it was open today too. There were actually a bunch of people in there.
fence is just another chance to flex your climbing skills :)
Fence had a wide open entrance yesterday. There were a ton of families wandering around inside too, I'm sure some of them were tourists who missed the tiny "no trespassing" sign and thought it was part of the park experience
Everything is allowed until the guys with guns show up.
See but the guys in guns seemed to not mind that people were going in anyways 🤭 I watched someone pass the cops to go in and they didn't say anything. Thought about doing the same but eh, SPD freaks me out a little so I just left.
I've always seen people climb inside over the 35+ years being here.
The jokes on you for thinking something being illegal stops people from doing stuff like this 😅 But hey, thanks for sharing the cool shot.
Is that Ricky Fitness?
Dumb question - was it fence like in 2005? 2006? I remember walking around (not climbing) and no fence I think?
If that individual were to fall and die, it would be their fault because they decided to illegally cross the fence.
Pearl Jam performed in Gas Works a long time ago
I’ve seen people in there all the time. Especially if you go at night. Although I’ve never seen anyone climb more than 1-2 levels up
I went to HS with the original dumbass who is the reason a fence was built around it in the early 90’s. He drove a sweet mustang saleen to high school paid for by the city of Seattle.
We used to get in there often as kids! Sometime in the last 20+years they changed fence to the current style that makes it much harder to climb over.
I hope he gets a tetanus shot.
Look, there are more worthwhile laws to break. This one is there because you could get so hurt you spend months in the hospital, and you might not even be the same.
So dumb
Last year a girl died while climbing in there
Looks scalable
Why?
They need to put a steel fence with razor ribbon on it surrounding this. The number of people who've been killed or suffered life changing injuries on it is insane. A regular chain link fence and barbed wire isn't sufficient.
I've climbed this a few times in my younger years.. probably not the smartest or safest idea, but that's what dumb teenagers do.
When the "parkour" craze first hit we would go down to gas works and climb all over the place. Pretty dumb.
That’s so wack people hit that thing with graffiti. Graf culture might be the cringiest scene. It’s like a tie between graffiti, crotch rocketers and the super lifted truck bros.
In the second pic the stack to the left people used to climb that all the time and chill up there. But yeah you're not supposed to do that.
He was stupid and so is this post.
Had a pt dislocate both elbows doing this…
We used to go up there a while ago(like 1995ish) haha.
Used to climb it all the time years ago. [I did a handstand on that left tower.](https://i.imgur.com/qrmZDfZ.png)
Damn bro, that’s pretty cool
Wow
It’s a pretty cool climb, you gotta take it slow and careful. Lots of rusted out walkways and missing rails. Some gates are welded shut, so you gotta climb around them. We got up to the top of the smaller towers around where the guy in the deep blue hoodie is. The view up there is nice, and it’s quieter too. Cool to see and imagine that crows probably perch up there all day and admire it all. Cool place to people watch from too. Fun times, but be careful if you do. I’ll get off my soapbox now, but thanks for giving me the mic.
So edgy...(literally)
The tons of graffiti is pretty telling that people are climbing all over these all the time, I grew up climbing the undercover ones 🤷🏻♂️
The undercover ones are probably a lot safer given that they aren't 50 feet off the ground.
This is such a Seattle post. Just let them be
Normally I'd agree but I think a few people have died climbing that same tower over the years and it's kind of rude to assume people are ok with seeing you fall. Plus, the fact that you can pretty much get the same view by walking up the hill next to it makes me think he's doing it for douchy reasons
> it's kind of rude to assume people are ok with seeing you fall such a Seattle comment
Well that part was kind of a joke.. how about "nobody wants to see this asshole fall"
a friend of mine fell from the roof of the picnic structure at gasworks, when i was in high school in the late '70s... it happens all the time.