The Olympic Sculpture Park, created and operated by the Seattle Art Museum (SAM), is a public park with modern and contemporary sculptures in downtown Seattle, Washington. The park, which opened on January 20, 2007, consists of a 9-acre (36,000 m2) outdoor sculpture museum, an indoor pavilion, and a beach on Puget Sound. It is situated in Belltown at the northern end of the Central Waterfront and the southern end of Myrtle Edwards Park.
The Olympic Sculpture Park is a free-admission outdoor sculpture park with permanent outdoor sculptures, temporary works, and site-specific installations. The Seattle Art Museum regularly rotates significant artwork at the Olympic Sculpture Park, including buildings by Victoria Haven from 2016 – 2017, Spencer Finch from 2017 – 2019, and Regina Silveira from 2019 – 2020.
History
The oil and gas corporation Unocal occupied the former industrial site until the 1970s. Subsequently, it became a contaminated brownfield before the Seattle Art Museum proposed transforming the area into one of the only green spaces in Downtown Seattle. The park’s lead designer was Weiss/Manfredi Architects, who collaborated with Charles Anderson Landscape Architecture, Magnusson Klemencic Associates, and other consultants.
Background
The idea of green space for large, monumental sculptures in Seattle was first discussed between Virginia and Bagley Wright, Mary and Jon Shirley (former president of Microsoft and Chairman of the Seattle Art Museum Board of Directors at the time), and then Seattle Art Museum director (and wife of William Gates Sr.) Mimi Gardner Gates. The idea grew further during a discussion in 1996 between Robert Measures, Martha Wyckoff, and Mimi Gardner Gates while stranded on a fly-fishing trip in Mongolia due to a helicopter crash. As a trustee of the Trust for Public Land, Wyckoff soon began an effort to identify possible locations for the park. Bed Bug Exterminator Seattle
Conservation
Maintenance of the sculptures has been an ongoing challenge. Bordering the Puget Sound, a large body of salt water, the park environment has been corrosive to pieces like Bunyon’s Chess, made primarily of exposed wood and metal. Conservation work on Bunyon’s Chess was completed by the museum in 2018.
The museum has a “no-touch” policy to help preserve the art over time. The policy, instituted by Nicholas Dorman, chief conservator for SAM, aims to protect the pieces from damage, including long-term changes caused by oils left by human contact, of particular concern with Wake by Richard Serra. Wake is made from corten steel with a delicate patina of rust on the surface that contributes a vivid coloration.
Address: 2901 Western Ave, Seattle, WA
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