EVERETT, FEB. 18: Inspired by a historic photograph of a young girl overlooking the marina, the Port of Everett’s newest bronze-cast sculpture honors the waterfront’s past while inviting visitors to look ahead to the future.
The sculpture is inspired by a 1940s photograph of a young girl gazing out over the small Everett boat harbor between what was then Pier 1 and Pier 2, the Port said in a press release.
Visitors can find the new sculpture, created by Sultan-based artist Kevin Pettelle, along the Central Marina esplanade between Pacific Rim Plaza and Boxcar Park.
Pettelle also created the Port’s “Fisherman’s Tribute” sculpture located at the plaza, adjacent to the Waterfront Center.
The Port partnered with Historic Everett to determine that the girl is a former Everett resident, Kathy Reinell Bowen.
Bowen’s father, Edward Reinell of Reinell Boats, taught classes for the Everett Sail and Power Squadron, socialized with the Everett Yacht Club, and moored the family yacht in a boathouse seen in the top left of the photo.
Bowen visited with Port staff last summer and shared the story behind the image. She was about 4 or 5 years old, and her dad snapped the photo on one of the family’s many weekend visits to the Port.
“[My dad] would be working on the boat, and he’d say, ‘Go play, kids,’” she said. “This was our Saturdays.”
Bowen said a classmate saw the photograph one day at the Everett Yacht Club and recognized her. She said she was blown away that her simple family photo had become so iconic to the area.
“I had no idea that it was such a popular photo,” Bowen said. “I saw it and thought, ‘That’s my green plaid jacket, and those are my brown saddle shoes.’”
The photo has become an icon of an era that saw a rise in boating and an expanding marina in Everett, the Port said.
Pettelle used the iconic photo as inspiration to create the Port-commissioned piece. Elements like the girl’s pose, saddle shoes, and plaid jacket closely resemble those of Bowen’s in the photograph.
Details like the Port’s Waterfront Place logo on coat buttons, and the fanning patina on the scarf that mimics light on water make it unique to the Port of Everett Marina. A nearby interpretive panel explains how boating and industry have evolved since Everett’s early days to today’s Port of Everett Marina – the largest public marina on the West Coast.
“We are glad that so many people can see a piece of themselves in this photo – that connection is what makes this piece such a meaningful addition to our expanding waterfront art collection,” Catherine Soper, Port of Everett chief of business development & tourism said. “It reflects a shared experience that spans generations and the unique connection we all have to our beautiful waterfront whether in the past or present, and even looking ahead to the future.”
Visitors can learn more about the Port’s history through interpretive panels and exhibits spaced around the waterfront trails, within the Waterfront Center at 1205 Craftsman Way in Everett, and online.
Based on a press release from Port of Everett.
