Chambers Creek Regional Park "Love Lock" Project

The Swoon interactive, public art structure is substantially complete with the foundations poured and metal "reeds" installed. Swoon is now ready for 'love locks' to be added!

When adding your lock to Swoon, please do not climb, hang from, or bend the metal reeds. Do not connect the reeds with one lock or add string or other materials to connect the reeds. The County reserves the right to remove locks that make the artwork unsafe or cause damage to the artwork.

If you have a lock currently on Chambers Creek Bridge, please remove it by April 16, 2023. We welcome you to add your lock to the new Swoon structure instead. Locks remaining on the bridge after April 16 will be removed.

Please see our FAQ section below or click here for more details.

At Chambers Creek Regional Park, the public currently places locks onto the stainless-steel guardrail cables of the Chambers Creek Bridge. The locks damage the bridge in various ways, add significant weight to the cables, and at times create structural issues. A well-designed public art piece will be constructed near the bridge to provide a safe, fun, and interactive space for the public to place locks onto, while also helping preserve the integrity of the bridge’s structure.

Scope of Work

Pierce County’s Arts Commission has selected a design for a public art piece at Chambers Creek Regional Park that compels people to place ‘Love Locks’ onto the art structure instead of the existing bridge cables. The design is reflective of the natural environment at Chambers Bay and the industrial history of the site.

Location of Artwork:

The artwork will be located close to the entrance to the pier where it can be reached by an ADA accessible route. The ADA accessible route will be completed in Spring 2023.

This project is funded by the Pierce County 1% or the Arts Program.

Pierce County Art Program

Pierce County's One Percent for the Arts ordinance directs publicly funded construction projects, with costs exceeding $100,000, to allocate one percent of the project budget for public art.

This program supports our mission to increase access to the arts for all Pierce County residents through a lasting legacy of publicly held artwork located in county-owned or county-leased facilities.

For more details about the Pierce County arts programs and services, click here.

Swoon Project FAQs

What is Swoon?

Swoon is a new interactive public art structure located in the Central Meadow close to the Chambers Creek bridge entrance. This is a permanent structure for the public to place locks (or commonly known as “love locks”) onto. The metal poles are a representation of the natural environment of the grass swaying in the wind at Chambers Creek Regional Park and are designed in a way to capture the industrial history of the site.

We ask that you do not climb, hang from, or bend the reeds in order to place a lock. Please don’t use a lock to connect multiple reeds or add string or other materials to connect reeds. Locks are meant to stack vertically on top of one another. The County reserves the right to remove locks that are deemed unsafe or damage the artwork.

What to look forward to:

This spring, key receptacles will also be installed. In the past, keys have been tossed into the Puget Sound which pose a threat to marine life and the environment. The new key receptacles will be a permanent solution for you to “throw away the key”.

Also, once the weather improves, we will complete a concrete ADA path to the art structure. This is expected to be completed by June.

Who built it?

Pierce County’s Arts Commission selected a design for a public art piece at Chambers Creek Regional Park that compels people to place ‘love locks’ onto the art structure instead of the existing bridge cables. The artist/architect is Rohleder Borges Architecture.

Where did the funding come from?

This project was funded by the Pierce County 1% for the Arts Program. This program supports our mission to increase access to the arts for all Pierce County residents through a lasting legacy of publicly held artwork located in county-owned or county-leased facilities. For more information, visit www.PierceCountyWA.gov/Arts or email [email protected].

Can I place or leave my lock on the Chambers Creek Bridge?

No. Unfortunately, over the years the locks have caused damage to the bridge’s cables. The extra weight to the cables creates a structural issue, which is a safety hazard for the train tracks below the bridge. Over the years, we’ve removed problematic locks, but due to the popularity of the site, a permanent solution was needed that is sustainable for County taxpayers, the community at large, and the bridge.

We want the community to continue to show off their “love locks” and that is why we installed Swoon, a new interacting public art structure near the bridge. We are excited for this new artwork and welcome old and new locks to be added to it!

When do I need to remove my lock from the bridge?

Please remove your lock by Sunday, April 16, 2023. You will either need a key or remember your lock combination to remove the lock.

What if I don’t remember my lock combination, have a key, and/or don’t remove my lock by April 16?

All locks remaining on the bridge after April 16 will be removed and properly disposed. Locks will not be kept after April 16.

What if I want to keep my lock but need help removing it?

Please reach out to Bret Burgess, [email protected], to coordinate a time before April 16.

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Chambers Creek Regional Park "Love Lock" Project

Scope of Work

Pierce County Art Program

Swoon Project FAQs

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