Marvin’s Garden

Marvin’s Garden is a very small park named after Marvin Sjoberg the former «Honorary Mayor» of Ballard.
One of the most distinguishing features of this park is the Ballard Centennial Bell Tower. The tower holds the bell that used to be part of the old Ballard City Hall at the top. From 1890 to 1907 Ballard was actually not a part of Seattle but it’s own city. The tower was dedicated in 1989.
The old city hall building was damaged in 1965 by the earthquake. A few years later the building was demolished. The bell was repaired and refurbished in 1976.
There is a plaque on the left side of the bell tower stating that the Ballard Avenue Historic District is a Registered National Historic Place. There is another plaque on the right side explaining when the tower was dedicated. Finally there is another plaque directly under the bell tower on the ground commemorating the 1989 dedication of the tower.
The park also co rains a plaque for the planting of the Centennial Tree marking the anniversary of the incorporation of Ballard into the city of Seattle.
It’s a small park in a cute area. A nice place to take a tea of coffee and relax.

Nestled in the heart of Ballard, this is not a destination. It is something you walk by, notice the nice bell tower and the sign beside it that says it’s a park. And then you exclaim to your friends «WTF?! This is the tiniest park of all time! How can they even call this a park?» … and you keep on walking right by and go about your day. All things are cute in miniature and this park is no exception.

Marvin’s Garden is a cute and VERY tiny little park located at the corner of 22^nd and Ballard Ave.
The best part about this park is the Ballard Centennial Bell Tower made of red brick. Thanks to the Seattle Parks website, I learned that this tower holds the bell that was part of Ballard’s City Hall when Ballard was a separate city from Seattle. And there is your history lesson for the day!
I give this park a three because, while it adds some nice aesthetics to the area, it’s the tiniest park of all time. I mean, it has five benches and the smallest patch of grass ever. However, I walk by it all the time and it’s relatively nice.