Jack Hyde Park, Tacoma

Before it became a public green space, Jack Hyde Park was part of a working industrial waterfront shaped by shipbuilding and timber activity. The site was historically associated with the Western Boat Building Company, founded in 1916 at the foot of Starr Street, and later with Henry Mill & Timber Co. Its conversion into parkland reflects a wider local shift from industrial use toward public recreation, shoreline access, and waterfront walking routes.

The park is named for Jack Hyde, a respected geologist, educator, and civic figure who later served on the City Council and briefly as mayor. He earned geology degrees from the University of Washington, helped establish the Earth Science Department at Tacoma Community College, and used his knowledge of volcanic hazards to warn about the possible collapse of Mount St. Helens’ north face before the 1980 eruption.

When the park opened in 1978 as Commencement Park, its name caused debate because some residents wanted “Old Town” included. The issue was settled after officials noted that Morton M. McCarver’s 1869 town plat was first called “Commencement City” before being renamed Tacoma. That same year, landscape architect Tom Pulford added the large heliochronometer sundial as a sculptural focal point for the open waterfront park.