HistoryLink Tours

Sentinels by Gloria Bornstein (2008)

Farther east along S Washington Street stands a group of eight red steel sculptures that diminish in size as you ascend the block entitled Sentinels by Gloria Bornstein (b. 1937). Bornstein led the team of artists who participated in the Fire Station 10 project, and to develop her art plan for the new facility, she studied the operations of the fire station, the surrounding Pioneer Square and Chinatown-International District communities, the neighborhoods’ histories and held extensive interviews with members of Seattle’s Asian community. She learned that the firefighters of Seattle’s oldest fire station have a historic relationship with the community. Going back 100 years, the city’s laws prevented firefighters from putting out fires in what is now the International District. Firefighters helped changed these laws and strengthen building codes, making things safer for the neighborhood.

The final work was also inspired by protective gear worn by different cultures, Asian architecture and craft, and the cultural diversity of the surrounding neighborhoods. The sculptural forms reference Japanese kokeshi dolls (simple wooden dolls that lack arms and legs), and other Asian forms. Bornstein selected the color red as it is considered the color of safety in both Asian and Western cultures. The notion of the sentinel — a guard who keeps watch — refers to both the safety provided by Fire Station 10 and the surrounding Asian communities that watch over the neighborhood’s interests.

Walk to the end of the block, turn left onto 5th Avenue S and walk a few feet just beyond the steps to the Emergency Operations Center entrance.