Panel floats ideas for salmon art sites

MICHAEL BURNHAM, THE OLYMPIAN

Originally published November 24, 2001

OLYMPIA -- Downtown will be swimming in salmon-themed public art next fall.

A citizen panel is recommending 10 sites to display giant, fiberglass fish, which soon will be decorated to dazzle and educate the public.

The panel of environmental and art aficionados recommended that the 8-by-2 1/2-foot coho salmon sculptures be displayed in downtown's most scenic spots -- from Percival Landing to Sylvester Park.

"We decided it would be really neat if people could do a walking tour, from salmon to salmon," panelist and downtown business owner Joe Hyer said. "The primary goal is to raise awareness about public art."

Artists will be selected by the panel early next year, and the artsy salmon could be unveiled during the fall Arts Walk.

"They could be decorated in any type of medium -- from paint to mosaic," said Stephanie Johnson, a city arts specialist. "It's really up to the imagination of the artist."

The City Council will vote on the proposed salmon sites Dec. 4.

The salmon art project is modeled after "Cows on Parade," which drew herds of tourists onto the streets of Chicago in 1999.

The Windy City's life-size bovines were doused with paint and decked out in anything from black ties and rhinestones to hard hats and virtual-reality goggles. The 300-cow stampede brought in hundreds of millions of dollars for Chicago.

Downtown Olympia business owners hope the salmon spawn some magic of their own during the 30-month construction of a new Fourth Avenue bridge.

"They slow people down," Olympia Downtown Association President Kerry McHugh said. "When people see something different looking ... it causes them to stop and see what's going on."

Salmon education

In addition to economics, the city's Johnson said the salmon will have a story to tell.

Three of the fish will be accompanied by plaques created to educate the public about salmon's historical and environmental roles in South Sound.

"The idea is to communicate that we all have an impact on healthy water," Johnson said.

The $37,500 project will be paid for with a $7,500 grant from the Miller Brewing Co. and $30,000 from Olympia's public art and Fourth Avenue bridge mitigation funds.

While the cows spent just a summer grazing gravel in Chicago, the salmon will be on display for three years in Olympia.

City officials are still considering what to do with the fish at the end of the display period.

While some suggest they stay, others suggest they go on the auction block.

"If they're gone, it opens up an avenue for something else," McHugh said.

Geoducks, anyone?

Michael Burnham covers Olympia for The Olympian. He can be reached at 360-704-6869.

Proposed salmon sculpture sites

- Percival Landing, behind Bayview Thriftway

- Heritage Park, near the fountain vault

- Olympia Timberland Library, near north parking lot entrance

- Capitol Way sidewalk, next to Sylvester Park bus shelter

- Corner of Fourth Avenue and Columbia Street

- Port of Olympia, south side of Olympia Farmers Market

- Port of Olympia, along Marine Drive

- Olympia Transit Center

- Corner of Fifth Avenue and Capitol Way

- Evergreen Plaza Building, in raised planter bed

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