Mysterious black monolith appears in Seattle park.

Lois Shriner discovers the sculpture is hollow.

But the rectangular, 9-foot-tall, black, steel monolith that mysteriously
appeared in a city park has plenty of people puzzled: What is it? Where'd it
come from? Who put it there?

The renegade sculpture appeared on a grassy hill in Seattle's Magnuson Park,
apparently on New Year's Eve. It resembles the shrieking black marker in
Stanley Kubrick's landmark movie, "2001: A Space Odyssey."

"Well, it attracts attention," said park visitor Lois Shriner. "It gets
people up to see [Mt. Rainier.] This is only the second time I've been to the
top of this hill."

The sculpture reminded Rebecca Sargent of Machu Picchu, the ancient Incan
ruins - similar vibe, she said.

Her husband, Denny, was a little more cynical, humming the "Space Odyssey"
theme as he moved forward to touch it.

"I feel my intelligence increasing by the moment," he said.

News of the structure's appearance circulated late New Year's Eve on Capitol
Hill as the Infernal Noise Brigade, a marching band of anarchists, led a
peaceful parade downtown.

The Seattle parks department will determine if the structure is a safety
threat, before deciding if it will be allowed to remain.

It wouldn't be the city's first experience with anonymous art, if that's what
it is.

There was the 700-pound steel ball and shackles placed on the right leg of
the Seattle Art Museum's Hammering Man.

And there was the 1,800-pound metal heart Jason Sprinkle - "Subculture Joe" -
placed at Westlake Park in 1996, in protest of various issues. That stunt
cleared out a swath of downtown when police decided the artwork might contain
a bomb, which it didn't.

John Thoe paused to regard the structure as he retrieved a boomerang Monday.

"It's cool," he said. "Especially on the first day of 2001."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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