A word on the art. There is the requisite Calder stabile, a giant typewriter eraser by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen that probably looks pretty good from a passing car, and a rather wonderful Louise Bourgeois fountain. To my eye, most of the artwork doesn't quite live up to its setting, although the Richard Serra* sculpture is perfectly positioned in a secluded grove. Serra's rusted-steel monoliths, Wake, are a natural addition to the park's tough-minded design. There is nothing picturesque about the way the park itself is designed. A low balustrade that separates (but does not hide) the railroad tracks, for example, owes more to the Department of Transportation than to high art. Jersey barriers would not be out of place here. The hard-edged, unpretty landscape, and a rather industrial-looking park pavilion, are unsentimental counterpoints to the beauty of Puget Sound.

*Correction, May 17, 2007: This piece originally misidentified the artist of the sculpture Wake. It is by Richard Serra, not Anthony Caro.