A series of new flagpoles and a stone marker will be installed at Ballard's Bergen Place park later this summer paid for by a $4,375 grant from the city's Neighborhood Matching Fund.

The six poles will be 25-feet tall with the flags of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland, along with the U.S. flag. The current flags at the south end of the park will be removed because they tend to twist too much on windy days.

The flagpole in the original park with the five Scandinavian flags and one U.S. flag is now in the parking lot of Viking Bank.

In the north flowerbed of the park, a bronze plaque commemorating King Olav of Norway's visit to Ballard to dedicate the park in 1975 will be installed in a rune stone. The plaque is currently behind glass in the park's kiosk.

The stone will be six-foot high to ensure visibility. "This is just the finishing touch of the Scandinavian elements," said Victoria Sangrey, president of Friends of Bergen Place.

The Bergen Place sign was formerly located on an awning that was removed when the park was re-designed in 2004. The new design was completed at a cost of $276,000 from the 2000 Pro Parks Levy.

Since the sign was taken down, the park has lacked an identify feature telling visitors they were in Bergen Place.

Artist Jennifer Dixon was commissioned by the city to create her "Witness Trees," series of sculptures in the new park design. Dixon's artwork was based on an illustration by the popular children's author Hans Christian Andersen. The artist envisioned sculptures that symbolized Ballard's maritime heritage.

Critics felt the sculptures did not represent Scandinavian culture.

The park has been considered a symbol of Ballard's Scandinavian heritage since it opened 32 years ago. In 1995, King Olav's son King Harold came to Ballard to dedicate the park's mural. Seattle is a sister city of Bergen, Norway.

Friends of Bergen Place has been working to restore the park's ethnic character. Volunteers have been spending hundreds of hours since 2003 to maintain the park and do seasonal planting.

In 2005, Friends of Bergen Place completed a project to design and place etched granite stones with the names of the Scandinavian countries for the park.