Since its inception, Seattle ARCH has advocated for preserving a fragment of the R.H. Thomson “Ramps to Nowhere” as an enduring tribute to the citizen activists who helped defeat this major north-south expressway.  In 2016, Seattle ARCH advanced a proposal to preserve one “bent” – four columns and a crossbeam – from the defunct freeway, winning unanimous support from the Seattle City Council.  Thanks to a grant from the Washington Department of Transportation, development of a conceptional design for the site was initiated in 2020.

As a physical and temporal marker, the Ramps to Nowhere Historic Marker will honor the citizen activists who worked to stop another freeway from tearing up Seattle neighborhoods.  It stands as a lasting symbol of the importance of grass roots civic activism, reminding future generations that citizens, working together, can have a major impact.

The images below show the original “Ramps to Nowhere” (left), and the four columns and crossbeam (right) that were preserved following demolition of the remaining ramps in June 2024 (photo courtesy of WSDOT, the Washington Department of Transportation). The demolition was also captured in a WSDOT video that can be viewed at this link.

The final image shows a preliminary concept drawing for the Historic Marker site. The Historic Marker will be integrated into the design of the future Arboretum North Entry and is expected to come to fruition when reconstruction of SR 520 is completed near the end of this decade. 

–Berger Partnership

Seattle ARCH acknowledges that this site is on the traditional land of the first people of Seattle, the Duwamish People, and honors with gratitude the land and the Duwamish.