Seattle Totem Pole (replica)
Artist
Charles Brown
Artist
William Brown
Artist
James Starfish
Artist
Robert Harris
Artist
William Andrews
Artist
James Andrews
MediumPolychromed carved alaskan red cedar
Dimensions600 x 54 in. (1,524 x 137.2 cm)
ClassificationsSculpture
Credit LineGift to the City of Seattle. Commissioned and funded by the United States Forest Service.
History: On October 2, 1899, a committee chosen by members of a Seattle Post-Intelligencer excursion to Alaska appeared before the City Council and presented to the City of Seattle a Totem Pole, secured from Tongass Island, Alaska, and asked that it be erected in Pioneer Place, at First Avenue South and Yesler Way. On the night of October 22, 1938, vandals set fire to the pole, causing considerable damage, after which incident many suggestions were received by the Park Board for replacing or rehabilitating it. A duplicate was carved free of charge in 1939 by native carvers of the Kyan and Kinninook Indian families. The new pole has been placed in the same location as the original.
Description: The 50’ cedar pole symbolizes three Tlingit Indian legends with mythological animals that represent family clans, this pole being of the Raven Clan with the hero at the top and Grandfather Raven at the bottom.
