ARLIS/NA+VRA 3rd Joint Conference

This tour will spend two hours exploring the streets in and around Pioneer Square, Seattle's oldest central business district. It will explore the physical reshaping of the area, its economic history, and its venerable architectural monuments. Construction in the Pioneer Square area began in the 1850s, but its character as an isolated lumber/fishing hamlet did not really change until the 1880s. A serious fire in 1889, created a drastic shift in building characteristics; much of the current building stock dates from this post-fire period from 1889-1895. As the main shopping and financial centers of the city moved north during the 1910s and 1920s, Pioneer Square continued functioning as a rough-around-the-edges industrial/entertainment focus for Seattle. The area began to struggle before World War II, and its decline continued into the 1960s, when urban renewal proposals threatened its survival. The historic preservation movement was spearheaded by architects, gallery owners and other creative types in the 1960s and 1970s, with the result that the neighborhood boomed again by the 1980s and 1990s. Lately, a cyclic economic lull has again set in, as residents and businesses struggle with the high costs of doing business and living in a very popular city.

Maximum Participants: 15

Fee: $10

Accessibility: Walking, standing, navigating city streets.

Transportation: Meet your tour wrangler around the North Tower escalators on the Westin's Lobby Level before the 2:30 PM departure. 

Join Carrie Dedon, from SAM's Modern & Contemporary Art Department, on this thought-provoking exploration of the Seattle Art Museum's Olympic Sculpture Park.

The award-winning Olympic Sculpture Park is downtown Seattle's largest green space. As a former industrial site, the sculpture park's nine acres have undergone extensive restoration, achieving a range of environmental goals, including: brownfield redevelopment, creation of a Chinook salmon habitat and a pocket beach, extensive use of native plantings, and the capture and use of on-site rainwater.

 The lead designers on the project, Weiss/Manfredi Architects, created a distinct 2,200-foot Z-shaped path that zigzags from the park's pavilion to the water's edge, providing stunning views of the Olympic Mountain Range. The park includes a sculpture collection that features major works by influential artists from the past half-century up to the present day, including: Alexander Calder, Louise Bourgeois, Richard Serra, David Smith, Louise Nevelson, and, the newest monumental work, Echo, by Spanish sculptor Jaume Plensa.

Maximum Participants: 20

Fee: $10

Accessibility: Walking (slight incline), standing, maneuvering city streets, getting on and off monorail.

NEW START TIME: 8:00am

In Kent, just south of Seattle, experience two iconic examples of earth art. The Herbert Bayer Earthwork and the Robert Morris Earthwork are more than just visually interesting: these places demonstrate important, artistic solutions to complicated land-use issues such as flood control and reclamation. Ronda Billerbeck, Cultural Programs Manager, City of Kent, will introduce us to Bayer's work, which, in 2008, became the City's first landmark. Cath Brunner, Director of Public Art, 4Culture, will introduce us to the Morris work, part of 4Culture's public art collection and a site that attracts international visitors.

Following this, we'll head back up north to Seattle's Wallingford neighborhood and meet Richard Haag, internationally recognized and honored landscape architect, who will give us a tour of his award-winning creation: Gas Works Parks. Gas Works Park is one of the first post-industrial landscapes to be transformed into a public space. Designed by Haag in the 1970s, it is the site of a former coal gasification plant. Today, the site of approximately 20 acres offers shoreline access to Lake Union and a kite hill alongside preserved industrial towers and buildings which have been converted to picnic shelters and play spaces for children. Haag won the American Society of Landscape Architects “President's Award of Design Excellence” for this project. We are thrilled that Mr. Haag is graciously giving us this tour. It is an opportunity not to be missed!

Maximum Participants: 26
Fee: $30
Accessibility: Walking, standing.
Transportation: Coach. Meet your tour wrangler around the North Tower escalators on the Westin's Lobby Level before the 8:00 AM departure.

Seattle is shaped like an hourglass, with its business district at the narrowest, central part. Visitors notice two things immediately about the city: it is flanked on both sides by water (salty Puget Sound on the west; fresh Lake Washington on the east) and studded with hills yielding a variety of views. A glacial retreat 10-15,000 years ago blessed the region with numerous mountains, lakes, estuaries and basins. Moistened by ample rain, this landscape grew lush and sprouted the forests that attracted 19th-century settlers seeking to capitalize on nature's bounty. This tour will explore the hills, valleys, and shorelines of the city that sprang up around Henry Yesler's modest lumber export mill, and has experienced economic peaks and valleys since 1851.

By 1900, Seattle had big-city aspirations and, with an eye to Boston's Emerald Necklace, city leaders  engaged the Olmsted Brothers landscape architecture firm to design a park system that took advantage of this majestic setting. Thirty-seven Olmsted designs were implemented; this excursion will visit four of them and travel along additional boulevards of their design. Parks and roads en route include the Puget Sound shoreline in West Seattle, old-growth forest of Schmitz Park, and verdant Seward Park with its spectacular views of Lake Washington. Turning north, the tour will explore Ravenna Park centered on a creek and conclude at  the urban oasis of Green Lake Park. Criss-crossing the city, tour attendees will see not only the steep hills shaped by nature but also the commercially advantageous shipping canals and channels dug by man. Several stops will enable all to leave the coach and immerse themselves in these parks, to smell the salt air, feel the ferns, and savor the views.

Maximum Participants: 26

Fee: $30

Accessibility: Walking, navigating unpaved areas of city parks

Transportation: Coach from the Westin to park destinations around Seattle; return to Westin by coach. Meet your tour wrangler around the North Tower escalators on the Westin's Lobby Level before the 8:30 AM departure. 

Attire: Wear comfortable walking shoes to enjoy the parks and beach. Bring a rain jacket.

This tour is an excursion for lovers of book arts. The group will travel from downtown Seattle's waterfront by Washington State Ferry across Puget Sound to scenic Bainbridge Island. This scenic ferry ride lasts about 35 minutes and you will have spectacular views of the city and Mt. Rainier (if the sun is out!). The day begins at the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, a recently opened museum supporting local art and one that has a unique and special artists' book room and gallery.  Attendees will meet with museum founder and artists' book advocate and collector, Cynthia Sears.  Her collection is phenomenal and the group will have the chance to talk with her as well as examine books.

The group will then travel via pre-arranged transportation to her private home and studio on Bainbridge Island to enjoy a catered lunch and meet personally with six or seven prominent book artists of the region. Each artist will have items on display and will provide a lightning round talk concerning their work. In addition, the private home has permanent exhibits on display.

Upon return to the ferry, participants have the opportunity to enjoy the town of Winslow which is home to many unique art galleries, including Bainbridge Arts and Crafts. Learn more about Arts and Crafts on Bainbridge Island. Ferries run about every 35 minutes back to Seattle, so you will have a unique opportunity to enjoy the Island and its many fine galleries, boutiques and restaurants.

Note: This tour blends walking and private transportation. Led by Jane Carlin, Director of the Collins Library, University of Puget Sound and Sandra Kroupa, Book Arts Librarian, University of Washington attendees will meet at the Westin and walk through Pike Place Market and along the Seattle Waterfront to reach the ferry terminal where they will sail as walk-on passengers. On Bainbridge, the museum is a 0.2 mile walk from the ferry terminal. A shuttle will transport attendees between BIMA and the private home, and then from the private home to the Bainbridge ferry terminal where they will walk on the ferry for the return sailing.

Maximum Participants: 15

Fee: $65

Accessibility: Walking one mile in Seattle; walking 0.2 mile on Bainbridge Island.

Amongst the many treasures held by The Seattle Public Library's Special Collections are the publications Camera Work and The North American Indian. Join Seattle Public Library Special Collections Librarians and Cornish College of the Arts Librarian and photo history instructor Bridget Nowlin in viewing selections of these pivotal works by Alfred Stieglitz and Edward Curtis published at the beginning of the 20th century. The library is fortunate enough to have sets of both series and is pleased to share them with members of the public.

Located only a half mile from The Westin, this visit will (re)introduce you to these pivotal works that served to bring Modern art to the fore, in the case of Camera Work; and showcased several tribes from across the country, in the case of The North American Indian; both in extraordinary fashion.

Maximum Participants: 20

Fee: $10

Accessibility: Walking, standing, maneuvering city streets; for those who take the bus, boarding accessible buses.

Transportation: Walk (bus optional). Meet your tour wrangler at 10:30 AM in the Westin lobby.

Tour Pike Place Market and learn about its historical significance. This walk will be led by members of the preservation and advocacy group Friends of the Market, including architectural historian Mimi Sheridan.

Established in 1907, the Market is the longest continually run farmer's market in the U.S. and an iconic piece of Seattle, both past and present. Proposed by Seattle City Councilman Thomas Revelle as a solution to the increased demand for produce and goods from the city's nearby farms, he referred to its dedication as “...one of the greatest days in the history of Seattle.”

Prospering in the 1920s and 1930s, the Market was slated for demolition by the 1960s. Architect Victor Steinbrueck rallied citizens to “Save the Market,” resulting in a 1971 voter approved 17-acre historic district and establishment of the Pike Place Market Preservation and Development Authority. Also established in 1971, the original Starbucks cafe at 1912 Pike Place is still in operation.

The future of the Market will be positively affected by the ongoing renovation project of Seattle's downtown waterfront. Learn about the forthcoming Pike Place Market - Waterfront Entrance designed by the Miller Hull Partnership: http://www.millerhull.com/html/inprogress/pikeplace.htm

More information about Pike Place Market: http://www.pikeplacemarket.org

This tour will break at 1:30 PM for those attending afternoon conference sessions at the Westin. The overall tour is likely to run longer and attendees are welcome to stay longer at the Market with our guides.

Maximum Participants: 20

Fee: $15

Accessibility: Walking, standing, maneuvering city streets and busy public areas. Possible cobblestone streets and steep city blocks within the Market.

Transportation: Walking (five blocks to the Market); meet your guide around the North Tower escalators on the Westin's Lobby Level before the 12:30 PM departure.

Funded largely by the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, the expansion of U.S. Interstate 5 through Seattle's urban core involved the moving or demolition of 4,500 existing buildings between 1960 and 1967. I-5 cut a path along the Downtown's eastern periphery, creating a two-to-three-block-wide  gouge that separated it from the Beacon Hill, First Hill and Capitol Hill neighborhoods.  In 1966, the noted California landscape architect, Lawrence Halprin, published his book, Freeways, in which he wrote both of the highway's artistic elements, seen particularly in their structural supports, and its destructive capacities. In most cases, Halprin realized that the auto's intrusion through urban areas brought serious challenges to pedestrian activities and public health. As part of Seattle’s Forward Thrust initiative in 1969, when funds for a broad array of public amenities were approved by city voters, money was allocated to build a lid over 5.5 acres above I-5. Due to his recent theorizing on freeways, Halprin was hired to build a natural oasis on top of the urban wound. He devised his Freeway Park <http://tclf.org/content/freeway-park-past-present-and-future> to have three sections or plazas, each of which had a distinct character suggested by the movement of water within each. The park's hardscape had the characteristic "brutalist" vocabulary that Halprin preferred in the 1970s, with planters constructed of board-formed concrete. Planters and berms had a vaguely natural look, akin to rock facings, but were shunned by many as cold and gloomy. Opened on July 4, 1976, the park has undergone many changes necessitated by the 1980s construction of the Washington State Convention and Trade Center nearby, vandalism and homeless encampments. Today, the park retains most of its original character, and ranks as one of Halprin's greatest and most under-utilized works. This tour will consider the reasons for its fame and notoriety, critical acclaim and public underuse.

Maximum Participants: 20

Fee: $10

Accessibility: Walking one mile, standing, navigating city streets

Transportation: Walk to and from Freeway Park. Meet your guide around the North Tower escalators on the Westin's Lobby Level before the 12:30 PM departure.

Experience firsthand one of the premier collections of Book Arts and Rare Books with Curator Sandra Kroupa, as she shares highlights from this collection of modern and historical items. With holdings in “over 21,000 historical and modern pieces encompassing all aspects of the physical book,” the Book Arts and Rare Book collections at the University of Washington are amongst the highlights of Seattle.

Sandra Kroupa has worked with this collection for 47 1/2 years and has an encyclopedic knowledge of artists, their creations, and of this collection she has built. Join us for a fascinating foray into the collection at the UW.

Maximum Participants: 30

Fee: $25

Accessibility: Walking, standing.

Transportation: Coach. Meet your tour wrangler around the North Tower escalators on the Westin's Lobby Level before the 6:30 PM departure.

Explore a rapidly growing part of Seattle with its forest of yellow building cranes, throngs of Amazon employees, distinctive urban design elements, and the calm of Lake Union.

This tour will begin with a ride on the South Lake Union Streetcar to Lake Union, passing through the newest buildings in Seattle and through the Denny Regrade where Denny Hill was removed in the early 1900s. This has been an area of great change over the past 100 years.

Once at Lake Union Park, you will disembark and be able to enjoy the morning over Lake Union at the site of the Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI) and the Center for Wooden Boats. From this vantage point, you will be able to see Gas Works Park across the water and the world-renowned Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center  to the East.

From there, the walk continues south towards the Cascade P-Patch and the flagship location of REI, where you will find the company's famed forest and waterfall. The return route will pass by Cornish College of the Arts, the visual and performing arts college of Seattle.

Total walking distance is approximately 1.75 - 2 miles.

Maximum Participants: 15

Fee: $10

Accessibility: Walking, standing, maneuvering city streets, getting on and off streetcar.

Transportation: streetcar and extensive walking. Meet your tour wrangler around the North Tower escalators on the Westin's Lobby Level before the 7:30 AM departure.

In this 1.5-hour tour, we shall focus on the Main Library within the Seattle Public Library system, designed by the Office of Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) in early 2000s. At the time of its design and construction, a larger debate about the privatization of public space had been raging since the Reagan Era. Seattle voters in 1996 passed the Libraries for All bond issue that laid out an unprecedented amount for the construction of a new main library and the building or renovation of all branch libraries. In the city, these spaces were viewed as common public realms, highly valued and worthy of being expanded and, to an extent, glorified. Seattle undertook a wide-ranging public works campaign during the 1990-2010 period, when not only libraries but other public edifices, such as the city hall, police and fire stations were also systematically reshaped. The Seattle Public Library Main Building became one of the most highly publicized of the mid-2000s, and stands out as a strong public statement, indicating that citizens of this city valued public buildings and libraries, in particular, as common meeting places for all strata of society.

More history on the building: http://pcad.lib.washington.edu/building/3151/

Maximum Participants: 15

Fee: $10

Accessibility: Walking, standing, navigating city streets.

Transportation: : Light rail from the Westin to the Seattle Public Library. Walking in the vicinity of the library and return to the Westin by foot, weather permitting. Meet your tour wrangler around the North Tower escalators on the Westin's Lobby Level before the 12:30 PM departure.

Join us for a tour of the Henry Art Gallery, the contemporary art museum on the University of Washington's campus.

The Henry is internationally recognized for bold and challenging exhibitions, for pushing the boundaries of contemporary art and culture, and for being the first to premiere new works by established and emerging artists. Through individual experiences with art, they inspire visitors to upend their expectations and discover surprising connections.

We will view the work of Paul McCarthy as well as  James Turrell's Skyspace Light Reign, built in 2003 in celebration of the 75th anniversary of the museum. The Henry Skyspace is the first to combine two key aspects of Turrell's work in one installation: the Skyspace itself and an exterior architectural illumination.

Maximum Participants: 15

Fee: $15

Accessibility: Walking, standing, getting on and off coach.

Transportation: Coach. Meet your tour wrangler around the North Tower escalators on the Westin's Lobby Level before the 10:30 AM departure.

Our tour will survey the architectural history of the University of Washington Campus. The University of Washington was founded in 1861 on a site now occupied by the Fairmont Olympic Hotel downtown, but was relocated to its current site to provide additional space in the early 1890s. State funds in the 1890s through about 1909 were meager, and the number of completed buildings few. In 1909, the Regents of the UW agreed to allow the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition (AYPE) to stage its fair on largely vacant university land. The construction of the AYPE made an indelible imprint on the campus, leaving behind an organizational framework still relevant today. The first large building spurt came between 1917 and the mid-1930s. The main quadrangles were planned and built at this time, setting the collegiate Gothic tone for the campus. Building diminished during the Depression and war-time era, only to resume with a second immense surge in the 1950-1970  period. Contextualism held sway during the 1980s and 1990s while the period after 2000 has been  a third building explosion centered in the sciences. During this 120-year span, the campus has grown from one of ethnic/gender exclusivity and siloed departments to one of multi-culturalism and interdisciplinarity, with disparate groups blending and synthesizing academic and social interests.

Maximum Participants: 10

Fee: $10

Accessibility: Walking, standing, navigating city streets.

Transportation: Coach to and from the Westin and the University of Washington. Walking around the campus. Meet your tour wrangler around the North Tower escalators on the Westin's Lobby Level before the 10:30 AM departure.

This tour will introduce you to a variety of architectural highlights in the south Capitol Hill neighborhood bordering the Central District, one of Seattle's most populated areas undergoing a high-level of transformation.

Take a walk through Cal Anderson Park in the heart of Capitol Hill. Seattle's oldest Olmsted-designed park underwent a well-received renovation in 2005. This 7-acre park houses play areas for children, a wading pool, sports field, and now lidded reservoir among welcoming promenades. Water remains a defining element clearly stated by the reflecting pool and sculptural water feature.

From Cal Anderson walk over to The Bullitt Center, an ultra-green high performance building. You will be hosted by Deborah Sigler of the University of Washington's Center for Integrated Design housed within the Bullitt.

Round out this tour with a visit to the Chapel of St. Ignatius on the urban campus of Seattle University. Originally conceived as “seven different 'bottles of light' in a stone box” this is a famous architectural work of Steven Holl.

Recent article about the changing face of the neighborhood: http://www.seattletimes.com/life/lifestyle/culture-clash-on-capitol-hill/

Maximum Participants: 14

Fee: $20

Accessibility: Walking (some inclines), standing, maneuvering city streets, getting on and off public transit.

Transportation: Mini coach to Capitol Hill; public transit back to Westin. Walking (a combined distance of at least 1 mi.). Meet your tour wrangler around the North Tower escalators on the Westin's Lobby Level before the 1:30 PM departure.

On this tour, we will begin by visiting the Frye Art Museum, founded in 1952 by Seattle philanthropists Charles and Emma Frye. The Fryes gifted their collection of European art to the people of Seattle, in the belief that access to exceptional and contemporary creative artwork should always be free, and for all. We will tour Cris Bruch's exhibition Others Who Were Here, as well as tour the Frye's Founding Collection in an exhibition titled Frye Salon.

We will then re-board the coach for a short drive to the Asian Art Museum located in Volunteer Park on Capitol Hill. After seeing the museum's collections, we will explore Volunteer Park.

While at AAM, housed within the 1933 Art Moderne building designed by Carl F. Gould, we will tour the exhibitions Paradox of Place: Contemporary Korean Art as well as Ai Weiwei: Colored Vases. There will also be an opportunity to view the continually rotating permanent collection on view. We will also have the opportunity to tour the McCaw Foundation Library for Asian Art and the Ann P. Wyckoff Teacher Resource Center.

In the historic Olmsted Volunteer Park, we will view the sculpture Black Sun by Isamu Noguchi, as we walk amongst the park's beautiful landscaping surrounding the reservoir built in 1901. Participants will have the opportunity to visit the nearby Conservatory which features flowering plants from all areas of the world, or walk up the 107 steps in the 1906 Water Tower to the observation deck with its 360° views.

Maximum Participants: 12

Fee: $25

Accessibility: Walking, standing, maneuvering city streets, getting on and off a coach.

Transportation: Mini-coach. Meet your tour wrangler around the North Tower escalators on the Westin's Lobby Level before the 1:30 PM departure.

Join us for an exciting tour of one of Seattle's oldest neighborhoods: the Chinatown/International District (known to locals simply as the ID). The ID promotes itself as a welcoming place for immigrants and those looking to make a better life for themselves. Nowhere else can you find so many different cultures coming together to form one neighborhood. In 1979, the neighborhood was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience will be our host for a tour of the Governor Gary Locke Library & Community Heritage Center, and a walking tour of the Chinatown/International District neighborhood.  The Historic Hotel Tour allows visitors to follow the footsteps of Asian Pacific American pioneers. During our visit to the Locke Library, we'll learn about the role the library plays in the community and hear about their innovative oral history program. Finally, through our walking tour of the historic ID neighborhood, we'll learn about the facts, myths and legends of the area, and learn more about the diverse contributions of Asian cultures to Seattle and the Pacific Northwest.

Maximum Participants: 20

Fee: $35

Accessibility: Walking (slight incline), standing, maneuvering city streets, getting on and off light rail.

Transportation:Light rail. Meet your tour wrangler around the North Tower escalators on the Westin's Lobby Level before the 1:30 PM departure.