Locks on fence on Harbor Avenue

[birdrescuer]

Does anyone know the story of the fence with all the locks along it?
It is just before the road turns into Alki.

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[happy hour]

This ritual has existed for decades in other cities & countries. I believe they were created decades ago to represent a ‘bond of love’ with someone to continue. It’s a wishing lock!

However, I don’t think many know this & ‘people are followers’. They love to mimic to anything someone has started. Remember sneakers strung on power lines?!

I saw the 1st lock standing solo for almost a year before it caught on.

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[scouser]

I believe it started in France, and it got so stupid that it was damaging railings over a bridge. Time for Seattle to bring out the bolt cutters and get rid of the ones there.

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[birdrescuer]

SCOUSER. Why? They aren’t hurting anything.

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[DaveB]

Birdrescuer-
The locks can cause damage if they build up because the fence ends up bearing more weight than it’s designed for. And aesthetically, I find them ugly (I know my taste shouldn’t be the final arbiter of what gets done, but if I ran the cutting-things-off-other-things division of the city maintenance crew, they’d be at the top of my list).

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[birdrescuer]

I like them and they don’t seem to be hurting the fence.

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[Author]

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