An Avenue of Stars Near Alki Beach
Find a guide to the night sky under your feet in West Seattle
By Jorn Peterson March 21, 2020
This article originally appeared in the March 2020 issue of Seattle magazine.
This article appears in print in the March 2020 issue. Click here to subscribe.
Walking down Beach Drive SW just south of Alki Point in West Seattle, you’ll likely keep your eyes fixed on the unobstructed panorama of Puget Sound before you. But look around and you’ll see the many artistic features of Constellation Park and Marine Reserve, including a tide pool sculpture and a wall of tiles illustrated with local algae and shellfish. Set your eyes on the sidewalk for a peek at the Avenue of Stars, a series of 27 bronze, in-ground artworks, each depicting a constellation that can be seen from the park on clear nights at about 10 p.m. Local artist Lezlie Jane designed and installed the constellations in 1999. Another star map appears under your feet every few paces as you walk from 64th Avenue SW to just before Benton Place SW. Beside each installation, a plaque notes the constellation’s name and the season in which it is most visible from this vantage point, serving as a nighttime guide to the stars or a daytime reminder of what exists beyond the far-off horizon.
Follow Us
Ferry Tales: Eight Indie Bookstores Worth the Ride
Plan a summer day around these bookshops in Seattle, Bremerton, Bainbridge Island, Kingston, and Poulsbo.
Independent bookstores tend to be cornerstones of the communities in which they reside, and Seattle is no exception. In addition to helping customers discover their next read, these neighborhood hubs host weekly gatherings and events, like publication release parties, author talks, and book clubs. Many of them have cafés and reading tables that encourage lingering…
Rearview Mirror: Seattle Art Fair is Back, Nordstrom Throws a Block Party, and a Must-Try Ice Cream Sundae
Things I did, saw, ate, learned, or read in the past week (or so).
SEATTLE ART FAIR RETURNS The buzziest event of the summer (well, aside from the World Cup), is returning next week. Now in its 10th edition, the Seattle Art Fair will once again take over the Lumen Field Event Center, packing it to the gills with art from 101 local, national, and international galleries. This year,…
Studio Sessions: Jennifer Leigh Harrison
Seattle artist Jennifer Leigh Harrison uses layers of paint and abstraction to explore what we carry beneath the surface.
Jennifer Leigh Harrison’s paintings are dense with movement. Color and texture gather into mosaic-like fields, as if they have been fractured and reformed. There are places in the work where a frenetic buzz seems trapped between the canvas and the first layer of paint. That energy runs through Patterns of Belonging, her current exhibition at…
ENHYPEN’s Jay Has K-Pop Stardom and a Seattle Heart
The Federal Way-raised singer talks hometown memories, Ivar’s clam chowder, and how it feels to perform in the place he grew up.
Long before he was performing in sold-out arenas around the world and representing brands like Prada, ENHYPEN’s Jay called the Puget Sound region home. Born Jay Park (not to be confused with the other famous K-pop star of the same name, who is also from Seattle) in Seattle and raised in nearby Federal Way before…