Okay, so it’s not an actual octopus; it’s a massive, badass sculpture at the corner of Pacific Ave and South Tacoma Way (map) called “Gertie’s Ghost.” It was created by artists Sean Orlando and David Shulman, who were inspired by the ill-fated Galloping Gertie bridge.
“We were enamored with the story of the giant octopus that lives in the wreckage of the bridge,” Shulman told the Tribune. “We kind of fused all of those things together to try and build something that was evocative of an old railroad trestle but had the tapering lines and organic curves of an octopus’s tentacles.” Source
I personally love this. I (almost) always love massive installation sculptures. Tacoma actually has a lot of great public sculptures! I’ve always thought it would be kind of cool to have a feature on this website where I take pictures of every single public sculpture within the city limits (but who has the time for that?). There’s another massive installation sculpture going into the in-progress Dune Peninsula park, called “Alluvion” that’s made of deconstructed pipes that reference the old Asarco smelter smokestack that used to be on that site:
Did you know that Frank Herbert is a native of Tacoma? Most people don’t. Actually, most people probably don’t even think about or wonder where Frank Herbert is from. But ’tis truth. Throughout his life he lived all over the Pacific Northwest, from Tacoma to Oregon and Seattle to Port Townsend.
But he was born on October 8th right here in Tacoma. So why shouldn’t Tacoma celebrate?
Frank Herbert is, of course, most known as the author of the Dune series of Science-Fiction novels. And Chris Keil, the owner of Tacoma’s Hilltop Kitchen bar/restaurant, also just happens to be a huge Dune nerd. He has named several cocktails after characters & groups in the long series of novels.
Comic Illustration of Hilltop Kitchen’s Dune-Inspired cocktails by RR Anderson
So it seems only fitting that Hilltop Kitchen should serve as host to a celebration of Herbert’s day of birth.
The event is being organized by local entertainment blog Post Defiance and being called “Cocktails Through a Stillsuit,” which is a reference to the waste-recycling and environmental suits that the “Fremen” people wore in the Dune novels.
Here are the deets:
Cocktails Through a Stillsuit: A Toast to Frank Herbert (Facebook Event) Tuesday, October 8th 7:00 – 10:00 PM Hilltop Kitchen 913 Martin Luther King Way Tacoma, WA 98405
There’s very little chance that I will go myself, due to the facts that (A) I am not currently imbibing alcohol, and (B) I am prepping for a wee beb. But if’n you like Dune and/or good drink, you shouldst probably check it out for yourself!
