Although not unique to Seattle, Hammering Man, the 48ft-high metal sculpture that guards the entrance to the Seattle Art Museum on the corner of 1st Ave and University St, has become something of a city icon since it was raised in 1992.

The sculpture, whose moving motor-powered arm silently hammers four times per minute, 364 days a year (he has Labor Day in September off), is supposed to represent the worker in all of us. It was conceived by Jonathan Borofsky, an American artist from Boston, who has designed similar hammering men for various other cities. There are taller and heavier models in Frankfurt, Germany, and Seoul, South Korea.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Seattle Art Museum

0.01 MILES

While not comparable with the big guns in New York and Chicago, Seattle Art Museum is no slouch. Always re-curating its art collection with new…

2. 1201 Third Avenue

0.09 MILES

The beauty of the Seattle skyline is reflected in the 55-story 1201 Third Avenue building at 3rd and Seneca, which changes colors with the clouds and…

3. Gum Wall

0.12 MILES

Seattle's famous gum wall is one of those cultural monuments you can smell before you even see it. The sweet aroma of chewed gum wafts from this strip of…

4. Seattle Tower

0.13 MILES

Formerly the Northern Life Tower, this 26-story art deco skyscraper, built in 1928, was designed to reflect the mountains of the Pacific Northwest. The…

5. Cobb Building

0.16 MILES

Look up at the beaux-arts style Cobb Building (1910) and see remnants of an older Seattle. Peering out from the 11-story edifice you'll see several stern…

6. Pike Place Market

0.19 MILES

A cavalcade of noise, smells, personalities, banter and urban theater sprinkled liberally around a spatially challenged waterside strip, Pike Place Market…

7. Main & North Arcades

0.19 MILES

The Main & North Arcades, sandwiched between Pike Pl and Western Ave, contain some of the most quintessential Pike Place Market ephemera: flower stands,…

8. Corner & Sanitary Market Buildings

0.19 MILES

Across Pike Place from the Main Arcade are the 1912 Corner & Sanitary Market Buildings, so named because they were the first of the market buildings in…