Brewery Park at Tumwater Falls set to reopen with new trail, hatchery and more
Brewery Park at Tumwater Falls is set to reopen April 1 with a host of new attractions for visitors.
If you’re puzzled by the name, that’s because the park nestled between Interstate 5 and the former Olympia brewery used to be known simply as Tumwater Falls Park. It was rechristened to give the park a stronger identity, and make clear that it’s not a state- or city-owned park.
Although open to the public, the park is owned and operated by the Olympia Tumwater Foundation, which was created years ago by the Schmidt family, the family that founded the Olympia Brewing Co. Brewery founder Leopold Schmidt also built the Schmidt House, now an event venue.
“I think this will be like an opening of the floodgates for visitors who have eagerly awaited the opening of this popular private park with its many improvements made during the COVID-19 shutdowns,” said Don Trosper, public history manager of the foundation, in an email to The Olympian.
The park typically receives 250,000 visitors a year, but because of pent-up demand and new attractions, foundation officials expect it to surge beyond that number.
The park closed because of the pandemic, but also for construction and cleanup projects. The foundation granted two easements — one to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife for a new, $9 million fish hatchery to replace the existing one, and the second to the city of Tumwater to create a leg of the Deschutes Valley Trail.
It used to be that park visitors would look down at the fish swimming around in the hatchery pen. Now visitors can see them through large, fish-viewing windows.
The $2 million trail, which is open to pedestrians and bicyclists, connects Brewery Park with the park down the hill: Tumwater Historical Park. The city of Tumwater eventually plans to extend that trail south to Pioneer Park off Henderson Boulevard.
Part of Brewery Park also had been closed after a brewery property transformer leaked PCB-tainted oil into the Deschutes River. The brewery property owner was recently billed for that cleanup.
A new business model
Like the park itself, the foundation also has had to change, said Board President Lee Wojnar and Executive Director John Freedman.
Schmidt family donations created the foundation in 1950, the park opened in 1962 and the foundation began awarding high school scholarships in 1967. To date, the foundation has awarded $2.1 million in scholarships. But the status quo is not going to serve the foundation very far into the future, they say.
“Living off the interest (of the foundation’s investment balance) is not a sustainable model,” Wojnar said. Freedman said the foundation will eventually “sunset” without a change of course and additional money.
To generate more revenue, they plan to expand parking at the park. They aren’t going to charge for it, but they do plan to ask for donations — something, they say, has worked well for other parks.
The foundation also plans to build a new visitor and education center to replace the 1,700-square-foot building that serves as the foundation’s office and houses restrooms. The new visitor center would measure close to 5,000 square event, large enough for event and exhibit space and a tap room, all of which could generate lease revenue for the foundation. They also plan to sell merchandise, Wojnar said.
Thomas Architecture Studios in Olympia has been hired to design a building that reflects the history of the area, which was the site of a shingle mill at one point, and which served as a gathering place for native tribes. The new center will look a bit like the longhouse at The Evergreen State College, with a large roof line that covers two spaces with a breezeway in between. The breezeway also will be designed so that it can be closed off, creating even more room for events or exhibits.
The project is budgeted at $7.5 million. The foundation plans to seek $3.5 million from the state Legislature — the foundation already has received about $1 million — and will embark on a capital campaign. The foundation expects to break ground in 2023-2024.
The surrounding area
Brewery Park is flanked by two icons: the former brewery and Falls Terrace, a restaurant that has overlooked the park for generations. The website says the business is closed until further notice.
Foundation Executive Director Freedman said he has talked to the restaurant owner, who told him he can’t afford to close and reopen the business, so will wait until restaurants are able to operate at 100 percent customer capacity.
COVID-19 restaurant capacity is currently at 50 percent under Phase 3 of Gov. Inslee’s Healthy Washington Plan.
Board President Wojnar said once everything is up and running at the renovated park, he thinks it will go a long way in healing the community which has suffered since the brewery closed in 2003. It also could spark more business interest in the city’s brewery district.
“This is a huge ask,” he said about the money needed for the new center, “but it’s a big plan to revitalize this area.”
