Intiman Patio Haunted by OCD Ghosts?

Alert reader Brian Sully just emailed this photograph of all the chairs on the patio outside Intiman Theatre, carefully arranged in the water at the fountain’s perimeter. “The fountain furniture rearranger struck last night,” writes Sully. “Maybe expecting a very warm day today.” If that is the case, they’re not using my AccuWeather app, which only forecasts a high of 70 degrees.

I happen to disagree with the chair placement in general, as you’re not facing the cast bronze “Fountain of the Northwest,” by James FitzGerald. FitzGerald created it over eight months for the World’s Fair in 1962, and it stands 21 feet tall, the jagged bronze planes slicing and fanning the water into rainbowed mists.

You can take a fun, idiosyncratic tour of Seattle by tracking down other FitzGerald pieces. The Parks Department has a good FitzGerald list for you:

Waterfront Fountain is made of cast and welded bronze shaped in cubical structures. The sculpture was begin by James FitzGerald and, in collaboration with the sculptor’s widow, Margaret Tompkins, was completed by Terry Copple. (Other public fountains by sculptor James FitzGerald are located at the IBM Building [5th Ave. & University St.], Plymouth Congregational Church [6th Ave. & Seneca St.], Intiman Playhouse [Seattle Center], and Jefferson Terrace Retirement Home [800 Jefferson St.]; all are bronze.) At the south end of the [Waterfront] park, a somewhat larger than life bronze abstract statue of Christopher Columbus gazes out at the water.