Seattle’s Olympic Sculpture Park

How a public-private partnership created an iconic Pacific Northwest park

The Seattle Art Museum’s Olympic Sculpture Park, where Alexander Calder’s The Eagle soars over Puget Sound, Roxy Paine’s stainless-steel Split glistens in the rain, and Richard Serra’s Wake beckons visitors to walk within its towering forms, stands out as an exemplary civic project: an urban park open and free to all and a dynamic green space filled with great art. The innovative design turned a former industrial site on Elliott Bay into a remarkable place that not only celebrates the inseparable nature of art, urban infrastructure, and landscape but also captures the majestic character of the Pacific Northwest. Using the park as a model of how public-private partnerships can create innovative civic spaces, this informative and visually stunning book will bring the Olympic Sculpture Park to a broader audience beyond the greater Seattle area and will be a vital resource for museum professionals, architects, urban planners, students, and general art lovers.

Mimi Gardner Gates is a specialist in Asian art history and was director of Seattle Art Museum (1994–2009) when the park was conceived and created. The other contributors are Barry Bergdoll, Lisa Graziose Corrin, Renée Devine, Mark Dion, Teresita Fernández, Leonard Garfield, Jerry Gorovoy for Louise Bourgeois, Michael A. Manfredi, Lynda V. Mapes, Roy McMakin, Peter Reed, Pedro Reyes, Maggie Walker, and Marion Weiss.