Tacoma has new ‘Jewels’ to light up city skyline
Tacoma has a set of crown jewels.
Three multi-fauceted orbs, set with 700 colorful cast glass pieces, are being installed at the corner of South 19th and G Streets.
Public artist Diane Hansen created “The Jewels” at the site of a new Tacoma Housing Authority project, The Rise at 19th.
Two metal poles, 20- and 15-feet-long, hold the three orbs. One assembly with two spheres weighs 2,800 pounds and the other weighs 1,500 pounds. At the center of each orb is a diamond-like framework holding mirrored glass built around a diffused light bulb.
Sun filters through the jewel-like glass in the day. Lights add sparkle at night.
The design was inspired by armillary spheres — ancient sculptures representing movements of the Earth and celestial bodies. But that was only the starting point. Hansen worked in imagery of a sovereign’s scepter.
“I wanted it to be very regal, very powerful, very uplifting and very elegant,” she said.
The project is only the latest for Hansen, whose art dots the South Sound landscape including “Lock - On Tacoma” at a Sounder train pedestrian underpass just off Pacific Avenue and bee-themed “Shelter” at the Olympia Regional Learning Academy.
The $80,000 art project (which included in-kind donations) will open along with the building to the public in December, said THA executive director Michael Mirra. Raised beds stand ready for spring planting, and a gazebo still needs to be built.
The $21 million Rise project will have 64 affordable apartments. Of those, 14 will be reserved for homeless veterans and their families and 14 will be for people with disabilities and their families.
The Rise itself is a Piet Mondrian painting come to life. The building’s facade is clad in red, blue and yellow siding.
“It’s shocking at first for some people and they don’t know how to react to it,” Hansen said. “But I think over time it’s just uplifting. It’s gorgeous.”
This story was originally published November 28, 2020 at 7:00 AM.
