HistoryLink Tours

4 (where shall I go ahead?) by Bill Will (2001)

Portland, Oregon-based Bill Will (b. 1951) is a conceptual sculptor and installation artist. His work, 4 (where shall I go ahead?), utilizes 23 500-pound inscribed granite cubes with text and imagery that reference the area’s railroad and neighborhood history. This includes railroad slang, rail designs and tools, a patent for the Pullman sleeper car, and railway logos. There are references to the history of the surrounding neighborhood, including a quote from musician Ray Charles (1930-2004), who lived in Seattle during the late 1940s and early 1950s, “Travelling the world opened up my ears.”

The work’s title is based on a lesser-known aspect of Morse Code that uses numbers as abbreviations for statements — the number “4” refers to the statement, “Where shall I go ahead?” In addition to being small monuments to railroad history, the works also serve as seating in the busy square across from historic King Street Station and nearby Union Square with numerous transportation options: streetcar, bus, light rail, and the Amtrak rail station. Will says, “The organization of paving and granite cubes creates a combination of pathways for pedestrians and interesting visual alignments for both pedestrians and vehicular traffic. The various possibilities of habitation and of movements in this area become a component of the artwork.”

Walk one block west toward the water on S Jackson Street to 2nd Avenue S and turn right. Walk toward the end of the block to the northwest corner of 2nd Avenue S and S Main Street.