Stan Sayres Memorial Park

Stanley Sayres was a Chrysler dealer in Seattle, during the 40’s and 50’s and an avid boat racer. He commissioned a series of unlimited hydroplanes of a design developed by Ted Jones, a Boeing Engineer. Thus began a tradition that lasts to this day, the annual Seafair races for unlimiteds.
The races were Seattle’s only major league sport for many years and hundreds of thousands of fans to the lakeside every August. It was Seattle’s super bowl.
Stan, Ted Jones and many others who introduced the sport to Seattle are long gone, but their legacy remains a fixture of Seattle life. The memorial park is a tribute to the man who put Seattle on the boat racing map and which led to other events, such as the World’s Fair in 1962.
On Seafair Sunday every August, this serene little boat launch and park becomes the focus of the races, serving as the pits and control center. The rest of the year, it’s a nice place to visit and a perfect place to park and take a walk or a jog — even a picnic — along the shores of Lake Washington, with its famous floating bridges and, when the weather is clear, a great view of Mt. Rainier.
To better understand the impact Stan Sayres and Boat Racing had to Seattle, please check out the Hydroplane and Race Boat Museum.

Most people know this park as the center of the Seafair Hydroplane Universe. During Seafair the Stan Sayres Pits are a madhouse, but on regular old days it’s nice to just stroll around near the lake. The Mount Baker boathouse has bathrooms that are open year-​round, unlike some of the beaches along Lake Washington that have only summer season facilities. For those with watercraft, there is a boat launch.