Seattle Monolith

On New Year's Day 2001, a replica of the Monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey appeared on Kite Hill in Seattle's Magnuson Park. The Seattle Monolith was a guerrilla art installation by a group of Seattle artists calling themselves "Some People".

Seattle Monolith
ArtistUnknown artist
Year2001 (2001)
TypeSteel sculpture
Dimensions30 cm × 120 cm × 270 cm (1 ft × 4 ft × 9 ft)
LocationSeattle
Coordinates47°40′51″N 122°14′53″W
OwnerSome People

Timeline
Date Event
December 30, 2000 Foundation poured.
December 31, 2000 Monolith erected.[1]
January 3, 2001 Monolith taken by unknown persons and moved to Duck Island in Seattle's Green lake.[2][3]
January 5, 2001 Some People come forth to claim the Monolith from Duck Island. The Monolith is stored under the Fremont Bridge while plans are made to install it semi-permanently in Magnuson Park.[4]
January 16, 2001 Monolith reinstalled in Magnuson Park.[5]
March 2001 Monolith removed from the Park in time for kite season and moved to a residence in Ravenna.[6]
2002 Monolith moved to Bed Rock Foundry in the Interbay Area.

Construction

The Monolith was fabricated by Louie Raffloer at Seattle's Black Dog Forge.[7] It was a hollow structure measuring 1 ft × 4 ft × 9 ft, constructed of 16 gauge steel and L-beams. Rebar protruded from the bottom[8] to attach the Monolith to its foundation. Estimates on the weight ranged from 350 lbs [8] to 500 lbs.[7] The foundation, consisting of 4 steel tubes connected by rebar, was buried in the ground and embedded in concrete. When the Monolith was erected, quick set epoxy was poured into the tubes and the rebar on the bottom of the Monolith was inserted into the tubes.[8]

Funding

The overall cost for constructing the Monolith was approx. $250.[9] The majority of the money for the Monolith was raised at the "Apes Of Wrath" Mexican Wrestling Party at Rocket Science Studios on Seattle's Westlake Ave.[10] Additional money was raised through the sale of "I Support the Monolith" T-shirts, an unsanctioned sidewalk bake sale on Broadway, a private screening of 2001 A Space Odyssey and a benefit concert held at The Speakeasy Café in Belltown.

Some People

Initially, the artists creating the Monolith had the idea that the public would never know where the Monolith came from or who constructed it. That changed after the Monolith was removed from the park and found on Duck Island. Artist Caleb Schaber came forward as a spokesperson for Monolith announcing a group of artists named "Some People" were responsible for the art. Schaber later had a duplicate of the Monolith made for himself and in April, 2001, ran for Mayor of Seattle.[6]

No other information was known about Some People until two years later when the Seattle Times ran an article about the Monolith's journey around the city. Chris Lodwig finally admitted to reporter Tyrone Beason that he, Titus Grupp and Eric Leuschner had the initial idea for the project and that about 50 other people were involved.[6]

gollark: Well, no, this is DC.
gollark: Scared people?
gollark: It's stopped being "Hot". :(
gollark: Anyway, it *may* show either that TJists are more vocal or that there are more.
gollark: Which responder?

References
  1. "Mysterious monolith appears in Seattle". USA Today. McLean, Virginia: David Hunke. AP. 2 January 2001. ISSN 0734-7456. OCLC 8799626. Archived from the original on 2011-02-15. Retrieved 4 October 2010.
  2. Leyden, John (5 January 2001). "Seattle's black monolith is swiped". The Register. London, England. Archived from the original on 2011-02-15. Retrieved 2010-02-16.
  3. "Seattle's mystery monolith disappears". BBC News. London, United Kingdom: British Broadcasting Corporation. 4 January 2001. Archived from the original on 2011-02-15. Retrieved 2008-11-21.
  4. "Mysterious Seattle Monolith Reappears on Island". ABC News. New York City, New York: American Broadcasting Company. 5 January 2001. Archived from the original on 2011-02-15. Retrieved 2010-02-16.
  5. "Around the Northwest -- Monolith Returns to Magnuson Park -- Man Fatally Shot by Police Identified". Yakima Herald-Republic. Yakima, WA: Michael Shepard. January 16, 2001. OCLC 51786680. Archived from the original on 2012-11-03.
  6. Beason, Tyrone (January 1, 2003). "The Seattle monolith: an odyssey 2 years after its sudden, mysterious appearance, steel slab now rusts in a Wallingford back yard". The Seattle Times. Seattle, Washington: Frank A. Blethen. AP. ISSN 0745-9696. OCLC 9198928. Archived from the original on 2011-02-15. Retrieved 4 October 2010.
  7. KOMO Staff & News Services (Jan 5, 2001). "The Monolith Is On The Move Once Again". KOMO News. Seattle, Washington: Fisher Communications. Archived from the original on 2011-02-15. Retrieved 2010-02-16.
  8. Martin, Richard (January 5, 2001). "Monolith to make Magnuson encore". The Seattle Times. Seattle, Washington: Frank A. Blethen. ISSN 0745-9696. OCLC 9198928. Archived from the original on 2011-02-15. Retrieved 2010-02-16.
  9. "Seattle embraces guerrilla artists' monolithic prank". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Elizabeth Brenner. January 23, 2001. p. 56. ISSN 1082-8850. OCLC 55506548. Retrieved 2010-02-16.
  10. Pagano, Jason (11 July 2001). "Diversions". The Stranger. Seattle, Washington: Tim Keck. ISSN 1935-9004. OCLC 27341179. Archived from the original on 2011-02-15. Retrieved 2010-02-16.
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