King County Correctional Facility
Exterior and interior artworks define the public space at the downtown county jail.
Located on a busy corner in downtown Seattle, the Seattle Division of the King County Jail opened in 1986. Today four permanent public artworks are sited at the correctional facility.
A year after the building became operational, landscape architect Martha Schwartz designed its colorful entry plaza and Benson Shaw created Torus Torum for the south plaza. More than 20 years later, two interior artworks were commissioned to define and humanize the building’s cramped, unfriendly lobby. Like Schwartz’ work, both newer pieces use color to create an environment where families, healthcare professionals, and attorneys can visit more comfortably. Drew Daley’s Reverb provides functional seating while Katy Stone’s willowcloudwavescape hangs in three parts on the walls, creating visual transitions within the small space.
