Seattle is known for its public art—not for just a couple of big pieces, like the Picasso and the Bean in Chicago, but for integrating art into the landscape and the buildings themselves. This sometimes results in lackluster work, or even art you don’t know is art when you’re looking at it. Never mind all that. The fact is that there’s plenty to appreciate here, and to consider. The best part is that because of the art’s embedded nature, it teaches you about the city itself. So let’s start with…
The City Itself
Seattle is one of the more outrageous land sculptures in American history. Because its downtown hills (including those along Denny Way at the north and Jackson Avenue to the south) were punishing for commerce, several were actually sliced off and dumped into Puget Sound. There was so much dirt that it changed the water level…
