Jerry Garcia is a principal at the internationally recognized architectural firm Olson Kundig, based in Pioneer Square. He is one of those types that only a great city can produce—a person who is familiar with and has excellent opinions on a wide variety of matters relating to art and culture. A leading figure in the architecture community, he made his first big mark in the gallery world with a 2006 proposal to restore Denny Park to its pre-regrade state with the dirt Bertha is currently digging out from under the Alaskan Way Viaduct. Garcia continues to contribute to Seattle’s changing landscape—he is part of the team building the new arts hub at King Street Station that will open later this year—and he works on projects from Cancun to Taipei. In all matters, he is highly disciplined and principled. Little escapes his attention, and he always avoids mediocre or lazy decisions. You only live once, and you must not waste this experience on bad and half-baked ideas. That is Garcia in a nutshell.
