Why is the park interesting?

The landscape design of the park has received many awards and has been presented at various exhibitions. Central to the relief is a 2,200-foot trail that leads visitors through a series of sculpted "galleries". The path connects three emblematic landscapes: the evergreen plain of the northwest, a grove of deciduous trees, and a coastal environment.

After the terrace passing through the amphitheater, you will find a large Wake art installation of five tall metal figures. The slopes here are planted with native plants, and the trees seem to be part of the composition. The bright green ginkgo leaves and the thin, needle-like leaves of the mahogany pair beautifully with the sculptures.

Walking across the bridge, which crosses heavily used railroad tracks, brings visitors to the coastline, another type of landscape. It connects to the Elliott Bay Trail, a popular trail for cyclists, skaters, and walkers that offers stunning mountain views. Nearby is the 1.25 mile long Myrtle Edwards Coastal Park.

Story

1910 The Union Oil Company established a transshipment base and a fuel storage facility on the site of the future park. After many years of use, the site suffered from contaminated soil and groundwater. The Department of Ecology had to come to grips with a 10-year cleanup. They removed 120,000 tons of dirt and replaced it with a layer of engineered soil to help slow down the runoff of rainwater, keeping it on the leaves and allowing time for the moisture to evaporate.

SAM and the Trust for Public Land worked together to acquire the site and build a park on the site. By 1999, with the help of sponsors, 16.5 million dollars had been collected. The New York Times published an article about the fundraiser, which further spurred public interest.

In 2001, SAM hired the interdisciplinary design firm Weiss/Manfredi to design it. Construction began in 2005 and the park opened to the public in January 2007.

What to look at

There are 20 sculptures in the park, many of which are located in majestic places located on the top. Most of the compositions are strongly intertwined with the environment.

Calder's Eagle appears to soar over the park, while Bunyon's Chess interacts with coastal winds, Ventallo III Perret highlights the plants surrounding it, and Richard Serra Wake is located in close proximity to the waves of Elliott Bay. Landscape and sculpture are real partners, apart from each other, they are no longer so impressive.

Olympic Sculpture Park features many native plants, including the aspen grove and meadows. Each of the three zones is designed to reflect the habitat of the Pacific Northwest. The landscape of the "Valley" is a forest with tall coniferous trees and flowering shrubs. "Grove" is a transition zone from the city to the coast. It is this landscape that is most alive due to the fact that it is most similar to the conditions of the wild.

The small cove (aka "pocket beach") was created to mimic coastal conditions to help create a habitat for juvenile salmon. It includes algae and other plants of the intertidal zone, which are washed by the waves during high tides.