Bellevue Downtown Park is a 20-acre oasis in the heart of Downtown Bellevue, serving as a gathering place that connects Downtown Bellevue and the Meydenbauer Bay waterfront. It provides places for active and passive recreation and is a prime location for formal and informal community gatherings throughout the year. The park features a lighted walking promenade that encircles a canal, a 240-foot-wide waterfall cascading into a reflecting pond, structured and unstructured play spaces, and formal gardens. In 1983, the Bellevue City Council purchased 17.5 acres from the Bellevue School District, beginning the process to design and build the park, which officially opened in September 1987. A seating wall in the northeast corner marks the site of the former foundations of three schools: The Union South School, Bellevue Elementary, and Bellevue Junior High.