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Public Arts Program
2001 Projects
Salmon Waves/Hiram M. Chittenden Memorial Locks
32nd Avenue NW and NW 54th Street, Ballard
Artist: Paul Sorey
2001
Salmon Waves consists of seven stainless steel wave-like sculptures, with light emitting diodes that create the illusion of juvenile salmon in motion. The sculpture’s machined form alludes to waves and salmon, references the precision of the Locks, and visually marks the complex system that is designed to ensure the safe passage of juvenile salmon. Through its influence on Lock operations (vis a vis water levels in the Cedar River and Lake Washington), stewardship of the Cedar River Watershed, as well as its water quality, Combined Sewer Outflow and stormwater program, Seattle Public Utilities has a responsibility to establish healthy water resources and encourage the return of salmon through the Locks and into Seattle’s urban waterways. The sculptures are now a key component for the 1.5 million visitors who come to the Ballard Locks each year. This project was partially funded by SPU.
Hatchcovers
City-wide in street right-of-way
1987 and 2001
Over the years, the City of Seattle has regarded the functionally necessary hatchcovers, providing employee access into its utility vaults and meters, as an opportunity for art that illustrates the utilities’ missions. In the 1970s, the first hatchcovers were created for Seattle City Light, followed in 1987 with hatchcovers for the Water Department. In 2001, three new hatchcover designs were commissioned, two of which were for Seattle Public Utilities.
SPU Hatchcover #1: Water Ring
Artist: Betsy Best-Spadaro
2001
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Artist Betsy Best-Spadaro’s cast iron hatchcovers for drainage and wastewater are located around downtown and outlying neighborhoods and portray several themes: the interaction between human and marine life, and the water cycle. The first is shown through images of marine animals correlated to bodies of water in the region, including orcas (the Puget Sound) and salmon (streams and rivers); within this design humans swimming with the marine life illustrate the need for good water quality, a responsibility of Seattle Public Utilities’ drainage and wastewater infrastructure. Surrounding these images are a series of rings that describe the water cycle, from rain to bodies of water culminating in a center ring that depicts clean water returning to the waterways through sewers and drainage systems.
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SPU Hatchcover #2: Raven Shouts Water
Artist: Barbara Earl Thomas
2001
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Barbara Earl Thomas developed a design for water meter covers that feature a raven – iconic to the Northwest native culture – in motion, appearing as if it is “shouting water,” the resource provided by Seattle Public Utilities to its customers. The artist translated the tonal scale of her original drawing to the permanent hatchcover by modulating the relief of the cast iron. The image changes throughout the day, depending on the weather and the amount of light reflected off the hatchcovers.
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Seattle Water Department Hatchcover
Artist: Garth Edwards
1987
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Garth Edwards’ design for the Water Department’s hatchcover design shows a circle of cartoon like faces rimming the hatchcover, as if peering down into the opening at a utility worker below or up at passersby. The image reinforces the function of the hatchcover as providing access to the utility infrastructure unseen beneath the city’s streets.
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