Day 350: Danny Woo Community Garden, Seattle, Washington
📌APIA Every Day (350) - The Danny Woo Community Garden, located in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District (APIA Every Day 131), is the largest green space serving the surrounding neighborhood. Founded in 1975, the 1.5-acre garden was created to support elderly residents and encourage greater community involvement in the area. For nearly 50 years, the garden has remained a central gathering space where locals can connect with nature and grow affordable, healthy food.
The initial idea for a community vegetable garden emerged in the 1970s as senior citizens living in the Chinatown-International District (C-ID) expressed a need to grow their own food and be more physically active. Prominent Filipino community leader and activist Robert Santos—often called the unofficial mayor of the C-ID—led these efforts and began searching for a suitable plot of land. He eventually connected with Danny Woo, a local businessman who owned a nearby hillside property above Main Street. In 1975, Woo leased the plot to the InterIm Community Development Association for $1 a year and volunteers immediately began work on clearing the site of trash and weeds.
After the property was readied, planning and construction on the project began. Natch and Yosh Ohno from the Ohno Landscaping Company volunteered to terrace the hillside, while local railroad companies contributed the 1,200 railroad ties used in the retaining walls. Other volunteers included individuals from the Alaska Cannery Workers Association and students from the University of Washington who helped set up the garden’s drainage and irrigation systems. The first phase of the project’s development concluded with the creation of 40 garden plots and was celebrated with a traditional Filipino pig roast.
In 1980, the garden expanded into the lower portion of Kobe Terrace Park, providing an additional 60 garden lots to the community. Elderly residents meticulously attended to the space, growing vegetables from their home countries like bok choy, shiso, goji berries, and mustard greens among other plants. The garden’s overall design reflected the pan-Asian identity of the neighborhood and paid particular homage to the city’s Old Nihonmachi with features like a Japanese torii entryway and various art installations. Upon Danny Woo’s death in 1987, the garden was named in his honor.
Today, the Danny Woo Community Garden remains a central space for residents to socialize, gain affordable access to food, and maintain cultural ties. Elderly gardeners, primarily from China, Taiwan, Korea, and Vietnam, continue to cultivate the site’s nearly 100 garden plots. Each year, InterIm hosts events such as a summer pig roast and an apple cider pressing party, continuing the garden’s mission of fostering greater community connection.
Written by Avneet Dhaliwal
LEARN MORE:
Nakano Associates: Community, Culture, & Food: A Visit to the Danny Woo Garden
InterimCDA: Danny Woo Community Garden
HistoryLink Tours: Danny Woo Community Garden
Community Gardens: From Bushes to Bok Choy
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