A big crowd came out last Saturday to dedicate West Seattle's new Fire Station 37 and Pete Beeman's Lifter, a site-specific, 26-foot sculpture with an interactive kinetic feature.

Last Saturday, a young girl approaching the open house celebrating West Seattle’s new Fire Station 37 looked up at Lifter, a 26-foot-high sculpture that stands as a beacon for the facility, and exclaimed “It moved!” 

Pete Beeman’s Lifter, designed for this fire station, is kinetic and interactive. Visitors turning a polished crank – set at just the right height for young children – operate a series of arms that rise and fall slowly, fanning out as they reach for the sky and gathering together as they swing down toward the ground. 

As many visitors streamed through to tour the new fire station, Beeman sat at the sculpture’s base speaking with the children who took their turns operating the artwork. He offered a prize to each child who succeeded in raising and lowering the steel arms.  

Read West Seattle Blog’s coverage of the dedication or its earlier coverage of the installation process – or download a Lifter fact sheet (PDF) – for additional information about the artwork. 

Lifter was commissioned with Department of Finance and Administrative Services Fire Facilities and Emergency Response Levy 1% for Art funds and administered by the Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs.