HistoryLink Tours

Walking just to the north of the stage, stainless-steel plates on the trellis cross beams bear the words of two poems commissioned for the station from poet Laureen Mar. You can read one poem while walking in each direction under the trellis walkway.

The poems are titled “Juncture” and “Idiom/Our Own.” “Juncture” is dedicated to the station as a historical site with ties to the railroad and the Asian laborers who helped build it. “Idiom/Our Own” is about language and weaves imagery of the ivy that entwines the trellis.

You can find horizontal and vertical trellises for ivy and climbing plants at each corner of the station plaza. A trellis runs south of the station entrances along the plaza. Surrounding the trellises are seating, seasonal landscaping, and ornate lighting fixtures with Asian design motifs. Some of the trellises are modeled on Chinese windows.

When the bus tunnel was retrofitted by Sound Transit for light rail, the iron trellises were repainted. Sound Transit worked with the Pioneer Square Preservation Board and International Special Review District Board to make sure the blue, teal, and red color scheme accurately reflected traditional colors of the Chinatown International District community.

The planters will be removed in the future to improve sightlines and visibility at the station.

Photos by Ronn CM Creative. Courtesy SCIDpda