Seattle's Olympic Sculpture Park

Typewriter Eraser, Scale X

Among the items in the bin of obsolescence, you’ll find rotary phones, cassette tapes, carbon paper, hardbound encyclopedias, and a funny little round, rubber circle with a plastic brush attached.  Remember the typewriter eraser?  It has not been forgotten by the famed husband/wife team of Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen who created a whimsical, 19-foot sculpture of stainless steel and fiberglass called Typewriter Eraser, Scale X for the Seattle Art Museum’s Olympic Sculpture Park.

Located on the waterfront north of downtown in the Belltown neighborhood, this nine-acre park combines landscaping, art, and a stunning view of Puget Sound and the snow-capped Olympic Mountains to create an urban redevelopment success story. The site was previously occupied by Union Oil of California as a transfer facility and tank farm. When they pulled out in the 1970s, they left behind a blighted, industrial eyesore with soil contaminated by years of oil seepage.

The idea of creating a sculpture park in this wasteland grew out of a collaboration between the Trust for Public Land and the Seattle Art Museum. Sufficient funds were raised to purchase the land, clean up the contamination, and engage the New York architectural firm of Weiss/Manfredi to transform the property into a vibrant green space to showcase art.

The landscaping, an important element in the design, consists of four Northwest ecosystems: Valley, Meadows, Groves, and Shore. Each is planted with native trees (over 500), shrubs, and wildflowers; and the entire area is connected with a 2200-foot long, Z-shaped, pedestrian path.

Interspersed along this path is a collection of monumental, modern sculptures designed by some of the best-known regional, national, and international artists.  Probably the most recognizable is Alexander Calder’s bright red Eagle which provides a perfect picture frame for Seattle’s Space

Caler's Eagle

Needle.  Other noted artists represented in the collection include Mark di Suvero, Richard Serra, and Louise Bourgeios. The twenty-plus sculptures are mostly metal and abstract including benches mimicking eyeballs, curving monoliths in oxidized steel, and a 50-foot tall stainless steel tree.

One unusual piece brings together art and science. The Neukom Vivarium consists of an 80-foot greenhouse occupied by a giant, dead “nursery log” where viewers can observe life and decay amid the ferns, lichens, and insects that have made the tree their home.

The park is open all year and is free to the public. In summer months, a café serves espresso and snacks, and the park’s amphitheater hosts a variety of special concerts and other events.

Love & Loss

 

Shore Acres Park, a Seasonal Delight

What an amazing Christmas present Cassie Simpson received in 1906! Her husband, lumber baron and shipping tycoon Louis J. Simpson, gifted her with a splendid mansion on a high promontory overlooking the Pacific Ocean near Cape Arago on the southern Oregon Coast. It must have been a challenge to wrap with its heated indoor pool, huge stone fireplace, myrtlewood wall paneling, and 2700-square foot ballroom.

What began as a summer home eventually became their fulltime residence as art work, riding stables, tennis courts, and a Roman bath were added to the property. Louis had a strong interest in developing a formal garden. The rich soil and coastal, temperate climate created perfect growing conditions, and soon hydrangeas and roses were supplemented with exotic plants from around the world delivered via his ships.

Sadly, Cassie died in 1921 and later that year the entire house burned to the ground. Six years later, an even grander replacement mansion was constructed on the site, but the realities of the approaching financial Depression of the 1930s drained Simpson’s resources. The house was never completed and gradually fell into disrepair. The property was sold to the state of Oregon in 1942 and, during World War II, was used as a barracks for soldiers.

After the war, the house was torn down but the formal garden, gardener’s cottage, and spectacular view remained to become Shore Acres State Park. The park, located 13 miles south of Coos Bay/North Bend, occupies a three-mile stretch of coastline between Sunset Bay and Cape Arago. On the site where the Simpsons’ mansion once stood is a glass-enclosed observation building. This is a great spot for viewing wild, winter waves and migrating whales while staying dry and out of the wind.

Trails to the north and south offer more dramatic views of the surf and tilted layers of exposed rock where wave erosion has created unusual holes and knobs on the sandstone cliffs. Slightly south of the park, a new interpretive overlook offers views to Shell Island and Simpson Reef. Noisy, barking seals, sea lions, and elephant seals can be seen year-round, and gray whales travel along the coast here from December to June.

Competing with this rugged seascape is a remarkable seven-acre botanical garden.  Carefully manicured and maintained, it offers a long season of blooms starting with spring bulbs and tulips (over 8,000), azaleas, and rhododendrons.  Later, roses and other perennials and annuals provide summer color while dahlias take center stage in the early fall. There is also a Japanese-style garden with a lily pond guarded by a pair of bronze herons, and a 95-foot tall Monterey pine dating back to the original estate. An extensive gift shop at the garden’s entrance offers many gardening related items and crafts made by local artisans.

Beginning in 1987, the non-profit Friends of Shore Acres started an annual Christmas tradition of decorating the garden with lights. Today it takes 1500 volunteers to string 300,000 lights around trees and shrubs and 26 holiday trees. Large sculptures shaped by lights include a whale, jellyfish, frog, Dungeness crab, butterflies, and even underwater koi fish in the lily pond. Refreshments and musical entertainment complete the holiday experience. Last year this community event drew 47,000 visitors from 28 countries and 45 states to this remote section of the Oregon Coast. This year’s display will begin November 28 and run through December 31.

Memorial Day Monuments

For many, Memorial Day signals the beginning of summer, the kickoff of white shoe season, the Indy 500, Oregon winery open-house weekend, and yet another federal three-day holiday. However, it is important to reflect on the history and significance of this day that honors the men and women in the military services who have made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

Soldier's Monument, Lone Fir Cemetery

Originally known as Decoration Day, the holiday’s beginnings are a little fuzzy depending on a Yankee or Confederate perspective. At the end of the Civil War, in May of 1868, Commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, General John Logan, officially proclaimed May 30 a day of commemoration, and flowers were placed on the graves of the 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Southern states refused to follow the May 30 tradition and had their own Confederate Memorial Days. By the end of World War I, the observance was expanded to include fallen soldiers of all wars and in 1971, it became officially known as Memorial Day and observed on the last Monday in the month of May.

The Portland area features a number of war and veteran memorials, many of them tucked out of the way, others in public areas but largely ignored. The oldest monument honoring the war dead is in Lone Fir Cemetery on 26^th SE, between Stark and Morrison. The Soldier’s Monument, near the center of the cemetery, was dedicated in 1903 to the veterans of the Civil War, Mexican, Spanish, and Indian Wars and is typical of that era, a bronze soldier with flag standing on top a stone pediment. The cemetery, dating back to 1846, is final home to over 200 Civil War veterans.

Lownsdale Square, Portland

Another pedestal-soldier style monument is located in downtown Portland in Lownsdale Square at the intersection of SW 4^th and Main. Unveiled in 1906, Soldiers Monument is dedicated to Oregonians killed in the Spanish American War. The tall, granite obelisk is topped by a bronze replica of an infantryman of the Second Oregon U.S. Volunteer Infantry. At the base of the statue are two Howitzers used at Fort Sumter at the start of the Civil War.  One points north; the other south.

Across the Willamette River, in the Rose Quarter, stands the Veterans Memorial Coliseum. This indoor arena with its unusual glass design was built in 1960 and dedicated in 1961 to the veterans of World Wars I and II. Two black, polished granite slabs inscribed with the names of the fallen sit at a lower level on either side of the main entrance.

Korean War Memorial, Wilsonville

Many veterans of these two wars are interred in the Willamette National Cemetery located east of I-205 (one of many Blue Star Memorial Highways in Oregon) on the flanks of Mt. Scott. The largest military cemetery east of the Mississippi, it covers over 300 acres and the beautiful, hillside setting provides panoramic views of Portland. Several Medal of Honor recipients as well as former Senator and Governor Mark Hatfield are buried here along with nearly 150,000 veterans and their family members. Korean War veterans are honored with a large granite monument listing the names of the 283 Oregonians lost in that conflict. South of Portland, in the city of Wilsonville is another memorial honoring Korean War vets. Located in the Town Center Park, the 94-foot long pink granite wall also lists those servicemen killed.

Vietnam Memorial, Washington Park

Probably the most striking of all Portland’s war memorials is the Vietnam Veterans of Oregon Memorial in Washington Park, between Hoyt Arboretum and the World Forestry Center. Set in a verdant bowl surrounded by tall trees, the monument was dedicated in 1987 to the more than 700 men and women who died or remain missing in action in that conflict. A spiral path follows the contour of the bowl and is lined with several curved granite walls representing the years between 1959 and 1976. The names of those lost are engraved on the stone along with information about the history of the war during that time period and news from the home front here in Oregon. The “news” runs the gamut from the notable to the nonsensical and provides a provocative contrast to the war and the lost lives.

Vietnam Memorial, Washington Park

While flipping your burgers and grilling your hot dogs this Memorial Day, take just a moment to remember that freedom is never free; or, better yet, take a bouquet of flowers to one of these monuments

City of Roses

It’s June and the City of Roses is gearing up for another Rose Festival, another Grand Floral Parade, and another year of celebrating the city’s best known flower. When locals and out-of-towners want to stop and smell the roses, they generally head for the International Rose Test Garden in Washington Park. But, Portland has another rose garden; one that is older and bigger, but not as well known.
Located in the Piedmont neighborhood in North Portland, Peninsula Park is bordered by Rosa Parks Way on the north and Ainsworth Avenue on the south with Albina and Kerby forming the east and west sides. The inspiration for the park was the City Beautiful Movement of the early 1900s, a nationwide effort at urban revitalization aimed at making cities more attractive and appealing places with parks, recreational opportunities, and community pride. While Portland lacked the industrial blight of older, Eastern cities, it was experiencing a period of rapid growth and expansion and prime for some urban development. The city responded by hiring the Olmsted Brothers, the premier landscape architects of that time, to visit the city and develop an open space and park plan. Their contributions continue to be enjoyed today in many of the city’s most popular parks- Forest, Washington, Laurelhurst, Sellwood, Mt. Tabor, Westmoreland, Peninsula and others.

The 16-acre parcel of land designated for Peninsula Park was purchased in 1909 for $60,000 and, according to the Department of Parks and Recreation, was formerly the site of a roadhouse and horse racetrack owned by businesswoman Liverpool Liz. When completed in 1913, the land was transformed into an outstanding example of a neighborhood park of that era, and included a community center with swimming pool, children’s playground, and Portland’s first public rose garden.
The two acres devoted to the garden were laid out in a formal, classic, European-style with symmetrical rows, neatly trimmed boxwood hedges outlining the flower beds, brick pathways, and a large water fountain and pool in the center. The sunken garden was situated six feet below street level and contained nearly 9,000 roses representing 65 varieties. The official rose of Portland, Mme. Caroline Testout, was cultivated here and can still be seen growing in the garden. This deep pink rose was extremely popular at the turn of the century. After World War I, the city planted 10,000 of them along 20 miles of street ways; thus earning the moniker, City of Roses.

Overlooking the garden is an ornate, octagonal band shell built in 1913. It served as the setting for patriotic rallies during World War I and is now a popular venue for summer weddings and concerts. The last of its kind in Portland, the building is a National Heritage Historical Structure and official Portland Historic Landmark.
When the rose garden first opened in 1913, it was an immediate hit and received over 300,000 visitors in the first year. Floral enthusiasts made it the home of the annual rose show. In the meantime, the city with the support of the American Rose Society was developing a rose test garden in Washington Park on Portland’s west side. When the International Rose Test Garden opened in 1917, rose festival activities moved there leaving Peninsula Park’s lovely garden to enjoy its quiet, neighborhood ambiance.
While on the eastside of town, another place to view an outstanding assortment of roses is in the Ladd’s Addition Rose Gardens. This urban, residential neighborhood in southeast Portland off Hawthorne Avenue was originally laid out in 1891. While most of the area streets are on a grid system, the Ladd’s Addition consists of diagonal streets extending outward from a central park. At each of the four compass points are diamond-shaped rose gardens with a total of 3,000 plants.

Not in Portland, but another charming rose garden on the eastside is the Sara Hite Memorial Rose Garden located on Kellogg Creek Road in the southeast suburb of Milwaukie, across from the Milwaukie Senior Center. With over 450 rose bushes in neatly manicured beds, the garden also features a lovely gazebo, large brick plaza, and plenty of benches for stopping and smelling the roses.