Fresh Art Brings New Sights and Sounds to Symphony Block

Third Ave is one of Seattle’s most important corridors. Between Union St and University St, thousands of people pass through every day. They arrive by light rail, ride the Route 36, or walk through Downtown on their way to work, the Waterfront, a performance, or a meetup with friends. Right in the middle sits Benaroya Hall, home of the Seattle Symphony.

That’s why we call this stretch Symphony Block, and why the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture (OAC) worked with partners to make it a more vibrant, creative place. Public art doesn’t require a ticket. It doesn’t ask who you are or where you’re headed. This year, new and restored artworks give everyone on the block something inspiring, thought-provoking, or joyful to encounter.

Sound/s by Ivan Toth Depeña

Colorful vertical bars on a gray and beige building. Green trees are in front of the building. — Installation view of *Sound/s* by Ivan Toth Depeña, photo by Nina Dubinsky.

Look up at the facade of the Benaroya Symphony Parking Garage and you’ll see Sound/s, a relief sculpture of dense, colorful vertical lines. Artist Ivan Toth Depeña made music visible using audio from RE|Member by Reena Esmail, the Seattle Symphony’s 2021 Artist in Residence, as a kind of sculptural score. He translated the music’s frequencies, amplitudes, and rhythms into the placement, density, height, and movement of each vertical form—read more about the work in an interview with the artist.

Symphony Block Bike Corrals by Roy Franklin

Two colorful bike corrals line the sidewalk between two trees, a lime bike is parked in one. — Roy Franklin’s bike and scooter corrals, photo by Nina Dubinsky.

Outside Benaroya Hall, artist Roy Franklin turned sidewalk bike and scooter corrals into colorful works of art. Their designs come from cymatics, the study of how sound creates visual patterns in materials like water and sand. Because the corrals sit outside a concert hall, Franklin chose sound as the theme.

Community members shaped the work too. At an input session led by local artist Moses Sun, people asked for art that breaks up the gray of Downtown with color and imagery that connects to nature and music. The bright patterns also have a practical job: they encourage people to park bikes and scooters in one place, so sidewalks stay clear. Read more about the work in an interview with the artist.

Skytones by Anna Valentina Murch

Exterior of Benaroya Hall at night, visitors wait outside and you can see "Skytones" lit in shades of blue, purple, and pink through the large windows. — *Skytones*, Anna Valentina Murch, Seattle Symphony 1% for Art funds, City of Seattle funds.

Not every change on Symphony Block is new. Skytones, a light installation by Anna Valentina Murch (1948-2014), has glowed in Benaroya Hall’s Boeing Company Gallery since 1998. The band of shifting light creates the illusion of seeing the sky through the building.

The original fluorescent system used 240 lamps. Over time, the special dimmable ballasts that powered them went out of production, and the artwork grew dimmer. This year, programmable LED fixtures restored it. Because the original programming had been documented, the team could match its visual intent. Even after dimming the new lights about 40 percent, Skytones shines brighter than before, and it uses less energy. Look for its blues, purples, and pinks from Third Ave, especially on dark winter nights. Learn more about Skytones in this art highlight.

Future Arts Way: Other Earth

A man holds up a phone displaying a colorful AR simulation. — Photo by Nina Dubinsky.

Some of the art on Symphony Block lives in your phone. Future Arts Way: Other Earth 2026, created by the nonprofit Future Arts, is an augmented reality (AR) experience along a 2.5-mile walking path from the Pacific Science Center to King Street Station. It has more than 35 AR stops. It needs no download and stays open 24 hours a day. The experience launched in June 2026 to coincide with the FIFA World Cup.

Halfway along the path, you’ll find Sound/s Flower Dance by Jose Gabriel Contreras. Hold up your phone at the parking garage, and flowers bloom out of Depeña’s sculpture while RE|Member plays. The AR layer extends the idea behind Sound/s: music becomes visual, physical, and digital. Learn more about Future Arts Way.

Experience all the New Art on the Symphony Block

Public art is about more than the finished work. It also grows from the relationships artists build along the way to create work reflects the people, stories, and experiences that make Seattle unique.

We invite you to visit Symphony Block, support local artists, and spend time with your community. It’s a fitting time to celebrate. Seattle’s 1% for Art ordinance was signed on May 31, 1973, and more than 50 years later we still see its impact in spaces like this one. Come check it out at Benaroya Hall’s free Open house on Sunday, October 18—Roy Franklin and Future Arts Way will have exhibits in Octave 9: Raisbeck Music Center.

The Symphony Block temporary public art installations are in partnership with the Seattle Department of Transportation, Seattle Symphony, Benaroya Hall, King County Metro, Sound Transit, Downtown Seattle Association, Unico Property Management, and the University of Washington.

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