It was a day in the 1960s and Phillip Levine was sitting in his car in downtown Seattle waiting for the light to change. Pedestrians crossed in front of his car from both sides of the street, gliding in that smooth walking style people have.

Levine remembered that moment 20-some years later, and decided to create a sculpture of it.

“It struck me as a great sculpture idea,” Levine says. “It seemed like a great idea for a park, with people interacting.”

That sculpture idea became “Interface,” the three bronze figures in Gene Coulon Memorial Beach Park on Lake Washington. Levine’s sculpture was chosen for the park in 1982, shortly after the park’s creation. He won a city contest.

The 77-year-old Levine has a masters in sculpture from the University of Washington. He created a slew of artworks before and after “Interface,” in hospitals, parks and schools in the greater Seattle area, plus Arizona, California, Michigan, Oregon and Texas, and even China and Japan. His first exhibit was in 1953 and his last in 2006-2007. But “Interface” is one of his favorite pieces. It’s also one of his few projects in which he knows where the idea came from.

“I just love it,” Levine says of “Interface.”

What he doesn’t love is vandalization. “Interface” has been damaged three times. But a new base Levine created for the sculpture should prevent future destruction.

But a new base won’t prevent fashion destruction — caused by those who dress up Levine’s figures. Holidays bring new costumes, and the figures aren’t spared from fashion trends, like thong underwear. Levine’s witnessed fashion shoots.

“I don’t like them dressing it up particularly,” Levine says, “but as long as it’s not a permanent thing…”

The real problem, Levine says, are the Canadian geese who “make a mess of the park.” And “Interface.”