Viretta Park

The CD, Madrona & Madison Park

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Amid a lakeside nirvana of posh mansions, you’ll find two-tiered Viretta Park, from which you can see the large house once owned by Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love – it’s the house on the north side of the benches.

Cobain famously took his life with a shotgun in the mansion’s greenhouse in April 1994. The greenhouse is long gone and Love no longer owns the house, but Nirvana fans still make the pilgrimage to this small park to pay tribute and scribble messages on the two benches that overlook Lake Washington.

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  • bus: 2

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Nearby The CD, Madrona & Madison Park attractions

1. Denny Blaine Park

0.12 MILES

South of Madison Park toward the tail of Lake Washington Blvd is Denny Blaine Park, found at the end of a looping tree-lined lane. The beach is surrounded…

2. Howell Park

0.17 MILES

Just south of Viretta Park in Madrona is a small beachfront abutting Lake Washington called Howell Park. If you're looking for a beach with some elbow…

3. Madrona Park & Beach

0.68 MILES

Madrona Park Beach, down a steep hill from the business district in Madrona Park, is one of the nicest along the lake. In clear weather the views of Mt…

4. Japanese Garden

0.87 MILES

At the southern edge of Washington Park Arboretum, this 3.5-acre formal garden has koi pools, waterfalls, a teahouse and manicured plantings. Granite for…

5. Mount Zion Baptist Church

1.17 MILES

One of the cornerstones of the CD neighborhood is Mount Zion Baptist Church, a 2000-member congregation with a choir that has reached national acclaim…

6. Madison Park Beach

1.21 MILES

A riotously popular place in the summer with a grassy slope for lounging and sunbathing, two tennis courts, a swimming raft floating in the lake, and…

7. Washington Park Arboretum

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This wild and lovely park stretching from Madison Valley up to Union Bay offers a wide variety of gardens, a wetlands nature trail and 200 acres of mature…

8. Water Tower Observation Deck

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It's practically obligatory to climb the 107 steep steps to the top of the 75ft water tower in Volunteer Park. Built in 1907, it provides wonderful vistas…

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