About the Project
A Living Corridor
Along the Canal
Passage to Puget Sound transforms approximately 1,000 feet of Seattle's Fremont Canal — from just west of Phinney Avenue to beyond 1st Avenue — into a sculpture garden that celebrates the wildlife, maritime heritage, and community of this vibrant waterway.
The Vision
Why This Park Matters
The Fremont Canal has always been a meeting place — where fresh water flows toward the Sound, where herons hunt alongside kayakers, where the rhythm of maritime industry blends with the quiet pulse of nature.
Today, this stretch of canal is an underused corridor with enormous potential. Passage to Puget Sound reimagines it as a place where families stroll among bronze otters, where children learn about the canal's maritime heritage, and where the community gathers to celebrate the natural beauty that has always been here.
This project is developed in coordination with the City of Seattle and the Army Corps of Engineers, ensuring that every improvement respects the canal's ecological and infrastructure responsibilities.
Artist's rendering — view looking east toward the canal bridge
What We're Building
Key Park Improvements
Access
A gently meandering path, with compacted surface for universal accessibility
Art
20+ life-sized bronze wildlife sculptures on stone plinths, plus a noteworthy, impactful sculpture representing the maritime industry
Gather
Inviting, curved water-view seating, decorated with colorful oars from rowing shells
Nature
Native plant restoration & poplar tree preservation. Landscape designed with public safety in mind (CPTED)
Safety
Improved “dark sky compliant” lighting for improved visibility, without disturbing nocturnal animals
Story
Interpretive signage on Canal history, wildlife and the maritime industry
Learn
A child’s learning/play area, perhaps with a small replica barge and activities about wildlife, the environment, and maritime heritage
Water
Recirculating water features integrated with bronze sculptures, bringing movement and sound to the garden
A Working Waterway
Maritime Heritage
The maritime industry is the lifeblood of the Fremont Canal. Every day, commercial vessels move between Lake Union and Puget Sound through these waters — tug boats, crab boats, research vessels, tenders, processors, cruise boats, and long liners, among others.
The garden will honor this heritage with a significant maritime sculpture and a children's learning area perhaps with a small replica barge, models, or interpretive signage showing the variety of commercial vessels that travel the Canal daily.
Sample concept — not to be copied or acquired
For Young Explorers
Children's Maritime Discovery
A centerpiece of the children's learning area will be a small replica of the barges that travel the Canal daily. Around the top railing, interpretive signage will introduce young visitors to the variety of commercial vessels that move between Lake Union and the Sound — tug boats, crab boats, research vessels, fishing boats, and long liners, among others.
Designed to be hands-on and interactive, the barge will give children a window into the working waterway just steps away, connecting play with the real maritime world around them.
Concept illustration only. Not a final design.
The Team
Project Committee
Patti Sherlock
Project Lead
Suzie Burke, Fremont Dock Co.
Community Member & Advisor
Larry Snyder
Auctioneer & Fundraising Advisor
Don Van Weezel
Treasurer
Crystal Elliott
Accounting
Mike Sherlock
Community Member & Maritime Advisor
Sabrina Matson, Colliers
Community Member & Advisor
Mary Van Weezel
Community Member & Advisor
Kate Parker
Marketing & Graphic Design
Architect
Rachael Meyer
Weber Thompson Architects, Designers and Landscape Architects
Sculpture Artists
Georgia Gerber · Whidbey Island, WA
Paul Thorne · Paul Thorne Metals, Anacortes, WA
Built to Last
Security
A well-designed park is a safer park. More visitors, better lighting, and native landscaping all reduce risk — a principle known as Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED).
The sculptures themselves are built to last: hardened steel armatures anchored with concrete mounting to stone plinths make removal extremely difficult, and each piece carries an internal tracking device for added security.