Olympic Sculpture Park facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Olympic Sculpture Park |
|
|---|---|
The park as viewed from the Space Needle
|
|
| Type | Sculpture park |
| Location | 2901 Western Avenue Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
| Area | 8.5 acres (3.4 ha) |
| Founder | Mary and Jon Shirley |
| Designer | Weiss/Manfredi |
| Operated by | Seattle Art Museum |
| Open | January 20, 2007 |
| Public transit access | Westlake station (Sound Transit) |
| Other information | Open sunrise to sunset |
The Olympic Sculpture Park is a cool outdoor art museum in downtown Seattle, Washington. It was created and is run by the Seattle Art Museum (SAM). The park opened on January 20, 2007. It has a large outdoor area for sculptures, an indoor building, and even a beach on Puget Sound. You can find it in the Belltown area, right by the water.
This park is free to visit! It shows off both permanent sculptures and artworks that change over time. The Seattle Art Museum often brings in new, exciting art pieces. For example, they've featured works by artists like Victoria Haven, Spencer Finch, and Regina Silveira.
Contents
The Park's Story
_(border_cropped).jpg)
The land where the park now stands used to be an industrial area. An oil and gas company called Unocal used it until the 1970s. After they left, the land was polluted, like an old, dirty factory site. The Seattle Art Museum had a great idea: turn this polluted land into one of the only green spaces in Downtown Seattle.
The main designers for the park were Weiss/Manfredi Architects. They worked with other experts to create the amazing park you see today.
How the Park Idea Began
The idea for a big outdoor sculpture park in Seattle started with some art lovers. Virginia and Bagley Wright, along with Mary and Jon Shirley, talked about it. Jon Shirley used to be the president of Microsoft and was in charge of the Seattle Art Museum at the time. The director of the museum, Mimi Gardner Gates, also loved the idea.
The idea grew even more after a surprising event in 1996. Robert Measures, Martha Wyckoff, and Mimi Gardner Gates were stuck in Mongolia after a helicopter crash during a fishing trip! While waiting, they talked more about the park. Martha Wyckoff, who worked with a group that helps protect land, soon started looking for possible places for the park.
Building the Park and Helping Nature
Mary and Jon Shirley gave a huge gift of $30 million to help start the park. This made them key donors. As part of building the park, a lot of work was done to help the environment. About 1,000 feet of the seawall and underwater shoreline in nearby Myrtle Edwards Park were rebuilt.
They built a special underwater slope with three levels using large rocks. The top level has big rocks to break ocean waves. The middle level is flat, like a "bench," to create a special area where the tide goes in and out. The bottom level has smaller rocks to attract sea creatures and large kelp (a type of seaweed). The goal was to help young salmon from the Duwamish River and test new ways to help marine life.
What About the Streetcar?
Before the park was built, some people worried about the Waterfront Streetcar. The park plans needed to remove the building where the streetcars were kept and fixed. Even though staff offered to turn the streetcar building into a sculpture, it was taken down. The streetcar line closed in November 2005. This streetcar route was very popular with both tourists and locals.
Amazing Art Collection
The Olympic Sculpture Park has many incredible artworks. Here are some of the sculptures you can see:
- Bunyon's Chess (1965) by Mark di Suvero
- Curve XXIV (1981) by Ellsworth Kelly
- Eagle (1971) by Alexander Calder
- Echo (2011) by Jaume Plensa
- Eye Benches I, II and III (1996) by Louise Bourgeois
- Father and Son (2004–2006) by Louise Bourgeois
- Love & Loss (2005) by Roy McMakin
- Mary's Invitation – A Place to Regard Beauty (2014) by Ginny Ruffner
- Neukom Vivarium (2006) by Mark Dion
- Perre's Ventaglio III (1967) by Beverly Pepper
- Persephone Unbound (1965) by Beverly Pepper
- Schubert Sonata (1992) by Mark di Suvero
- Seattle Cloud Cover (2006) by Teresita Fernández
- Sky Landscape I (1983) by Louise Nevelson
- Split (2003) by Roxy Paine
- Stinger (1999) by Tony Smith
- Two Plane Vertical Horizontal Variation III (1973) by George Rickey
- Untitled (2004–2007) by Roy McMakin
- Wake (2004) by Richard Serra
- Wandering Rocks (1967) by Tony Smith
Past Artworks
Some sculptures have been on display at the park in the past, but are no longer there. These include:
- Riviera (1971–1974) by Anthony Caro
- Typewriter Eraser, Scale X by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen
Keeping the Art Safe
Taking care of the sculptures is a big job! Since the park is right next to Puget Sound (which is salt water), the salty air can cause rust and damage. For example, Bunyon's Chess, which is made of wood and metal, needed a lot of repair in 2018.
The museum has a "no-touch" rule for the art. This helps protect the sculptures from damage, like oils from human hands. This is especially important for Wake by Richard Serra. This sculpture is made from a special steel that has a delicate layer of rust on its surface, giving it a unique color. Touching it can harm this layer.
Tall, painted sculptures like Eagle need to be checked for damage from birds. Keeping these large artworks clean and safe costs a lot of money. Workers often need tall scaffolding or special lifts to reach them. The paint on Eagle can also be easily scratched by lawnmowers, so gardeners use scissors to trim the grass around its base! In 2020, Eagle got a full makeover with new paint to keep it looking great.
Special Stories Behind the Art
The sculpture Stinger, by artist Tony Smith, was actually made after he passed away. Tony Smith drew the design in 1967 and a wooden model was built in 1968. The steel version you see at the park was made in 1999, following his original design. It was given to the Seattle Art Museum by his family.
When the park first opened in 2007, the sculpture Typewriter Eraser, Scale X by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen was on loan for three years. It belonged to Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. At first, visitors were not allowed to take photos of this sculpture. But later, the park changed its rule. In 2016, Typewriter Eraser, Scale X moved to Seattle Center.
