Entry No. 29 — the Seattle file — filed under: outdoor-weird

The Wall of Death

Hidden under the University Bridge along the Burke-Gilman Trail is a surreal 1993 public artwork by Mowry Baden and his son Colin: a circle of lavender conical columns holding up a pink steel track with "THE WALL OF DEATH" cut into the metal, named after the carnival motordrome stunt where riders loop a near-vertical wall. Across the trail, stylized metal spectator chairs are bolted to the existing concrete bridge pillars as imaginary grandstands for watching the stunts that never happen.

The move: Bike or stroll the Burke-Gilman to the bridge, find the pink ring overhead, and pose in the bolted-on phantom grandstand seats.

📍 Before you go Free, always viewable from the trail. Easy to walk right past; it sits both above and beside the path under the University Bridge. Skating on the ramp was barred years ago, so it's view-only.

• 📍 University District, Seattle
• 💸 Free
• ⚡ Up for anything
• 🌗 Outdoors

Where: Burke-Gilman Trail at NE 40th St, under University Bridge, Seattle, WA

Hours: Added 2026-06-24 — confirm current hours before you go.

Plan a visit & invite your people →

Proof: source 1 · source 2 · source 3 · source 4

last checked: 2026-06-24