Olympic Sculpture Park

Location: Downtown Seattle
Address: 2901 Western Ave.
Acreage: 9.0

The New York Times, L.A. Times, Wall Street Journal, Time magazine and International Herald Tribune have all drooled over Seattle’s most exciting new park. Visitors from all over the world have come to see the world class art on display. The design has won a couple dozen international awards. Frommers said it’s the best thing that’s happened to Seattle in years.

So, if you are a Seattle resident and haven’t visited the Olympic Sculpture Park (which opened three years ago), you need to turn off your computer right now and go.

This park, conveniently en route between the Space Needle and Pike Place Market, has already become one of Seattle’s major tourist attractions. The Olympic Sculpture Park is carefully designed, fitting elegantly into the edge of the Belltown neighborhood, connecting seamlessly to the waterfront and even crossing over a railroad track and busy road without disturbance to visitors. It feels like this space was destined for this park.

The park is actually owned and maintained by the Seattle Art Museum. Big SAM donors and volunteers helped make the park possible, including a $30 million gift from Mary and John Shirley to kick things off. To say Seattle cares about art is an understatement.

If you’re into art, you may be interested to hear that free docent-led public tours of the park are held regularly. You can also use this great map that shows where you’ll find each piece of art.

Now, if you’re not a big art buff don’t let that stop you from checking out the Olympic Sculpture Park. The views are amazing. It’s a wonderful place to run or walk, especially with the easy access to Myrtle Edwards Park that runs along Seattle’s waterfront. It’s also a fabulous place to take kids. Several of the pieces (especially Richard Serra’s Wake) invite kids to explore.

Still need inspiration to go? Check out this cool video simulation. Now, please. Go.

#110 (Visited 1/29/10)