Saint Edward Seminary

Bishop Edward John O'Dea bought the land himself with his inheritance and gave it to the Archdiocese of Seattle so a seminary could be built there [1]. The cornerstone was blessed in October 1930, and Saint Edward opened its doors to students in 1931, run by the Sulpician teaching order [1]. Seattle architect John Graham drew the building [1]. It began as a minor seminary and added college-level classes in 1935 [1]. The first twelve men were ordained in 1939 [1]. A second seminary, Saint Thomas the Apostle, opened on higher ground in 1958, and St. Edward went back to being only a minor seminary [1]. Enrollment dropped, and the archdiocese closed it in 1976 [1]. The State of Washington bought most of the property in 1977, and it became a park in 1978 [1]. The building sat mostly unused and fell into disrepair, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007, and reopened as a lodge in 2021 [2] [1]. Students once lived by bells, and the Great Hall clock stopped in the 1960s before someone found the old man who had worked on it and got it running again, though it no longer rings [2].