2018 SIGNAL BOX WRAPS: Community Unity

In November, 2018, we installed five brightly-colored signal box wraps at Beacon Hill intersections that incorporate the Common Threads: Community Patterns motifs of the Carl Smool art installation at Beacon Hill’s Link light rail station.

On the narrow sides of the signal boxes, a map depicts the neighborhood from the north end of Jefferson Park to S. Bayview St. and is dotted with landmarks (it also shows you where you are on the map!).

This project is one of multiple efforts to unify and beautify the north Beacon walking district—helping people enjoy all the neighborhood has to offer, making the area more walkable and easier to navigate. The signal box wraps came on the heels of the wayfinding signs (red poles with blue signage, see below!) we installed in 2017 and preceded the “Welcome to Beacon Hill” signs we developed in 2019.

2016/17 BUS SHELTER MURALS: Artists on the project

@dozer_art
Inquiries: dozercrcik@gmail.com

Angelina Villalobos — The mental inspiration for my body of work is Folklore; stories humans have created and collected to explain the unknown. Tales about animals and their wit especially pique my interest. Religion is also another way humans have used to explain what they don’t understand. The visual inspiration my work pulls from include Mexican Folk, Mesoamerican, Pacific Northwest Native American, and Japanese art. These are then filtered through the eyes of an anime and comic book lover.

@onesevennine
website

WAYFINDING: Does street pole signage improve walkability?

With funding from the Office of Economic Development in 2016, we were able to work with SDOT to have nine poles installed along Beacon Ave. S. from S. Spokane up to the corner of Beacon Ave. S. and S. 14th.

The signs point to public destinations like Jefferson Park and the Library, but also mark lesser known places like the 12th Ave. View Point.

Folks in the neighborhood already know which direction to turn when they’re headed off to the park, but we hope they’ll encourage visitors to explore a bit when they step off the Light Rail for lunch.

BEACON AVE S. MURAL: A Remarkable Feat

After months of vigilance, the warehouse door at S. 15th and Beacon Ave. S stayed free of tagging (thanks to our service contract with Graffiti Busters) and we embarked on a mural project that would change the vibe of the neighborhood. The fact that this wall site happened to be smack in the center of our north commercial district gave us inspiration to put the project together. We called on local urban artists Charms Won and Crick from Dozer Art. Both were game—and while Beacon Hill Merchants managed the project, provided for supplies and other project costs—we take our hats off to these two artists for pulling it off in just three days!

Take note: the building was subsequently demolished, but we hired Crick to put his signature sunflowers on Beacon Hill bus shelters.