THROWBACK: White Center Sidewalk Project

Ever been walking down the main drag in the WC Business District and wondered, “What the heck are these inlays in the sidewalk and where did they come from?” Turns out, the WC Teen Program was one of several partners that helped design the art on 16th avenue back in 2006!

White Center “Coins and Welcomes”, 2006, includes 159 unique bronze castings in the 2-block long business district in White Center.

The word “welcome” in dozens of languages alternate with depictions of coins from all over the world. The artwork as create by Judith and Daniel Caldwell of Top Hat. Caldwell Sculpture Studios received a “Project of the Year” Award for the inlays from the American Public Works Association.

But let’s back up . . .

Teens Creating Tomorrow (2002 – 2008) was a North Highline Youth Council driven by motivated youth and supported by adult service providers. TCT provided White Center and South Delridge area youth with the opportunity to develop leadership skills, express youth voice, celebrate the assets of their neighborhoods, and work to change the challenges facing their community. The council was comprised of over twenty youth ages 14-21 from across the community working to:

Increase opportunities for pro-social involvement with peers and community.
Strengthen connection between youth and community.
Reduce/prevent violence and gang involvement.

The TCT Leadership Council met monthly and took the lead in decision making and project planning, representing the council in the community, and facilitating TCT programs and events. Additional neighborhood youth were recruited to participate in ongoing projects and community outreach. Successful TCT spring activities included a Donut Dialogue with local youth and law enforcement officers, participation in the 2^nd Annual White Center Spring Clean, and ongoing volunteer opportunities at the White Center Foodbank. TCT events also included a youth safety clinic, leadership development workshops, participation in the White Center Jubilee Days, and support of the Downtown White Center Sidewalk Beautification Project.

The Downtown White Center Sidewalk Beautification Project was proposed to the TCT Youth Council by King County Community Service Officer Vary Jackson in February of 2005. TCT members quickly agreed that the new sidewalks coming to downtown White Center in September of 2005 provided an excellent opportunity to increase community ownership of the business corridor while simultaneously discouraging, deterring, and decreasing unwanted and illegal behaviors on the streets of White Center.

TCT follows a six step process in project planning including community assessment, establishing group mission and vision, developing an action plan, recruiting resources, developing leadership and arranging for community outreach, and documenting progress and sharing feedback.

To address community assessment the Youth Council met with local agencies, researched existing Sidewalk Art, and consulted with the Highline School District to identify cultures represented in the White Center Community. Based on input form with King County Roads, the White Center Community Development Association, the King County Sheriff’s White Center Storefront, representatives from the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council, and local White Center artists, TCT recommended creating individualized bronze cast inlays to be set in the one foot corridor of the sidewalks closest to the downtown WC buildings. The decision to go with bronze castings over tile or laser cut inlays was based on safety concerns (the bronze castings provide the best traction in adverse weather conditions), durability issues (bronze castings do not break as easily as tile inlays), and community relevance (bronze castings allow for individual designs and greater diversity of design.)

Based on their preliminary research and assessment, the TCT Downtown White Center Sidewalk Beautification Vision sponsored workshops with local youth and Caldwell Studios to design between 100+ bronze castings representative of the White Center Community.

The King County Roads Division provided the youth with multiple design strategies based on the total number of inlays. The recommendation by roads and the artist to create the greatest impact was to create by inlays that covered the entire downtown corridor.

The role of the TCT Youth Council in the WC Sidewalk Project included:

1. Assessment and Recommendation for Artwork installed

Tour of King County Sidewalk Art in ten locations evaluating durability, safety and relevance.
Interviewed Roads Division and local artists.
Surveyed Community Youth for ideas.

2. Assistance with Recruitment of Funds

Attended NHUAC Mtg to solicit funds
Submitted Request to Roads and Dow Constantine

3. Help in Selection of Artwork including Welcome in 50+ Languages spoken in White Center and Coins from around the world.

The Welcomes make sense, but why coins? In part to honor the Business District. And . . . according to WC lore, the community was named in 1918 when Hiram Green and George White flipped a coin to decide between Greenville and White Center.