American Youth and Freedom

Ernest Ralph Norling was a renowned muralist, was commissioned to paint the mural in 1941 when the pool was opened at Williams Point in West Seattle's Lincoln Park.

The mural shows a mason laying a cornerstone inscribed 1941. Behind it, a sunrise reflects the promise for the city's and region's future. Seattle's skyline is represented by skyscrapers, a church spire, and a factory with smokestacks. 

At the mural's center stands Seattle's historic clock tower against a mountain background. In 1912, the clock tower fell into Elliot Bay after an accident involving two steamships at Colman Dock.  Although the clock tower was removed in 1935, the clockworks were reinstalled inside the Colman Ferry Terminal in 1985.

The mural also depicts the Osprey, J.M. Colman's classic Victorian steam yacht, launched in 1903. For many years it transported youth and families to camps at Horsehead Bay, Hood Canal, Blake Island and Orcas Island, represented by shoreline tents on the left.

George Colman supported opportunities for low-income youth to participate in sports and attend scout camps, depicted in the lower right corner.

Tree trunks and a starry sky in the upper right corner double as this country's Stars and Stripes. A trio of Camp Fire girls sings adjacent to an orchestra whose musical score shows the opening notes of the national anthem: "Oh say can you see. . .”

Location: Colman Pool, Lincoln Park, 8603 Fauntleroy Way Southwest, Seattle WA  98136