A.5 Appendix 5: Alexandria Waterfront Public Art Proposal DRAFT Alexandria Waterfront Small Area Plan PUBLIC ART COMMITTEE 2010.12.13 ALEXANDRIA WATERFRONT Public Art Proposal 1 PUBLIC ART COMMITTEE 2010.12.13 Table of Contents Introduction 3 The Art Walk Path 4 Tide Lock Park (north) 6 Tide Lock Park (middle 9 Tide Lock Park (south) 10 Rivergate City Park 13 Oronoco Bay Park 16 Robinson Terminal (north) 20 West’s Point 22 The Crescent Bay 24 Founders Park 25 City Marina 28 Torpedo Plaza & Marina Park 30 Torpedo Factory Art Center 32 King Street Park 34 Waterfront Park 36 The Strand 38 Point Lumley 41 Robinson Terminal (south) 44 Roberdeau Park 46 Shipyard Park/Harborside City Park 49 Manhole cover, King Street Gardens Park, Alexandria, VA Wilkes Street Tunnel 51 Researching, designing and writing this public art plan required Windmill Hill Park 53 thousands of volunteer hours to complete. Thank you to the Pomander Park 56 following from the Public Art Committee for their dedication, hard Strategies for Acquiring Public Art 58 work, vision and professionalism: Addenda 60 Rebecca Adams Susie Cohen Karen Conkey Mike Detomo Dene Garbow Kathy Glennon Matthew Harwood Pat Miller If you have any questions or comments, please contact the Public Art Committee, Alexandria Commission for the Arts or Office of the Arts. Manhole covers, Japan 2 PUBLIC ART COMMITTEE 2010.12.13 INTRODUCTION  To foster tourism and encourage economic development  To enhance the City’s reputation as a national leader in the arts  To provide for future artistic endeavors The Alexandria Commission for the Arts and the Public Art Committee took these goals as a mandate and developed this proposal based on them. The overarching concept is to make Alexandria’s waterfront an arts destination and cultural anchor by establishing an Art Walk along the Potomac River. Art on the Waterfront Proposal Public art, inspired by the confluence of art, culture, history and nature, would be highlighted throughout the waterfront. The aim is to have public art pieces set at regular intervals along one continuous walking path. This Art Walk pathway would straddle the Potomac River unifying the waterfront experience for residents and visitors by connecting City Parks and helping to establish and to reinforce existing cultural areas. Float Boat, Dale Chihuly, Phipps Conservatory, Pittsburgh, PA In 2008 and 2009, an ad hoc committee under the Public Art Committee Overview created a concept presentation called Art on the Waterfront that explored In the City of Alexandria’s 1982 Waterfront Plan, the Torpedo the potential of an Art Walk along the Potomac. After obtaining approval Factory Art Center was established as a cultural anchor and became by the Public Art Committee and the Alexandria Commission for the Arts, an important catalyst for revitalizing the waterfront. The Art Center’s members of the group went out to the community to share their ideas unique character attracted hundreds of thousands of people annually and to listen and learn from others. This proposal builds on the Art on to the area. Economic opportunities developed; restaurants and the Waterfront presentation and the 2010 Waterfront Concept Plan, shops opened. There was prosperity and growth. fulfilling the City’s request to the Public Art Committee to provide a vision and a design framework for public art on the waterfront. Alexandria must now compete with the growing cultural attractions of nearby communities, including National Harbor, Georgetown, the Art along the waterfront must work for Alexandria. Public art succeeds Capitol Riverfront, Annapolis and Lorton. when it creates a sense of place and complements its environment and culture. Examples of public art pictured in this proposal come from all Alexandria’s Art Policy corners of the world and are meant to show the possibilities for The Alexandria Commission for the Arts and the Public Art integrating art along the waterfront. Committee embrace the goals stated in the City’s 2008 revised Policy on Acquired Art to support the current waterfront revitalization Goals and Objectives effort: The purpose of this proposal is twofold: to help the City develop a comprehensive, long-range plan for public art on the waterfront; and to  To integrate art into the City give guidance to the public, arts administrators and artists contributing to  To promote public awareness of and interest in art the Art Walk.  To promote Alexandria’s cultural heritage 3 PUBLIC ART COMMITTEE 2010.12.13 THE ART WALK PATH Alleyway behind the Athenaeum, Alexandria, VA Central Park, Frederick Law Olmstead, New York, NY The history of the land and physical changes the waterfront has Recommendations: undergone tell one thing; the Potomac River and wildlife tell another.  Establish a winding path that flows in harmony with the natural The people who worked and lived on the land; the commerce and shoreline of the Potomac River industry, all have stories. All these tales are entwined and will help  Inscribe directly on the Art Walk pathway historical quotations inspire the public art along the Art Walk. describing Alexandria (lettering should be in the same typeface)  Pave the Art Walk with a warm, golden-hued, exposed aggregate The Art Walk pathway will measure a mile and a half, winding concrete through Alexandria’s waterfront from Tide Lock to Pomander parks,  Incorporate additional paving materials that are native to the shadowing the Potomac shoreline. Potomac River, as well as ballast stones symbolically transplanted Concepts: from ports throughout the world  Unify Alexandria’s waterfront experience by establishing a  Add where appropriate (to reflect the planning concepts and continuous walking path along the Potomac River with a wide recommendations outlined in this proposal) glass, oyster shells, variety of public art inspired by Alexandria’s rich history, culture coral, fish bones, colored stones, etc. as aggregate to the paving and natural beauty material  Restore the “living shoreline” to improve water quality, to provide  Incorporate in-pavement lighting on the Art Walk pathway (powered shoreline access to wildlife, and add diversity of plant species by solar collectors from the public art project proposed for Tide Lock  Encourage economic development and foster tourism by Park near the Mirant Potomac River Generating Station) highlighting Alexandria’s waterfront as a cultural anchor  For pedestrian safety, keep the bike path and Art Walk separate  Make the path ADA compliant 4 PUBLIC ART COMMITTEE 2010.12.13 Historical references:  Ballast stones: When sailing vessels took on cargo, it was at times necessary to sail to a port with light or empty hulls. To keep from being too top-heavy at sea and vulnerable to capsizing in high winds, ships carried stones in their hulls as counterweight. These ballast stones were then left behind to make room for the cargo being exported. Alexandria’s early cobblestone streets are paved with some of these discarded ballast stones transported from around the world. Cobblestones, Prince Street Alley pavers in Old Town, Alexandria, VA Confluence Project, Maya Lin, Columbia River, OR and WA “…we…traveled a hilly road that frequently gave us a view of the river Potomack (sic) and reached Alexandria at 11 o’clock, while Exposed aggregate concrete the horses were bathing, we took a walk through the town.” [Baron Alexander Von Humboldt’s Visit to Washington, D.C., Herman R. Friis, 1804] 5 PUBLIC ART COMMITTEE 2010.12.13 TIDE LOCK PARK (north) Light display, Roppongi Hills, Tokyo, Japan Privately owned property with public access In Alexandria’s early years, the City paid a lamplighter to walk the streets at dusk and, one by one, hand light the public oil lamps. In 1851, the Alexandria Gas Light Company became the source of illumination. Today, electricity is generated with the use of coal at the nearby Mirant power plant. Alternative energy sources, like solar Interactive light sculpture, London, England and wind, may power the lighting of the future. The inspiration for the light-sculpture garden proposed for Tide Lock (north) is to be taken from Alexandria’s streetlights. Concepts:  Establish this park as a gateway to the Art Walk, beginning the pathway at the north end and moving southward, following the Potomac shoreline  Work with the owners of Canal Center Plaza and the Mirant Potomac River Generating Station to build a private/public collaboration on a public art project inspired by the light of Alexandria’s historic streetlamps  Establish a cultural anchor on the northern end of the Art Walk Holmberg Footbridge leading to Hunter by tying park activities into nearby cultural facilities, such as Museum of Art, Chattanooga, TN MetroStage (© Ross Glass and Aluminum, LLC) 6 PUBLIC ART COMMITTEE 2010.12.13 Recommendations:  Commission and install a Light-Sculpture Garden in the park, inspired by the lighting fixtures from Alexandria’s history  Include solar collectors in the Light-Sculpture Garden to power the in-pavement lighting alongside the Art Walk pathway  Create and install signage giving an overview of the Art Walk  Include signage to distinguish the Art Walk from the bike path  Increase outdoor seating “During Alexandria’s first half-century…Your path would be lit only by the meager light from your own lantern and by the kindness of strangers – candles or oil lamps in the windows of the wakeful and in the taverns that you passed.” [Diane Riker, August 22, 2010] In Alexandria, the lamplighter “goes round at dusk with a light ladder in (his) hands by which (he) ascend(s) the lamp post and set(s) fire to the lamps…tenaciously fixed on top of a high post, Streetlights on King Street, Alexandria, VA out of reach, so that disorderly persons may not have it in their power to extinguish them.” [From Sketches of History, Life, and Manners in the United States by Ann Royall, 1826] Franklin lamp “The (gas) light is steady and brilliant. Large numbers of our citizens turned out to see the ’lighting up’ – and all were pleased to see the success exhibited.” [Alexandria Gazette, Oct. 20, 1851] Historical references:  Alexandria utilized a variety of energy sources and lighting devices to illuminate its streets after sunset, each lending its own special magic to the night.  The lighting theme for Tide Lock Park (north) lends itself to the limelight of the nearby MetroStage. MetroStage is an award winning theater dedicated to producing contemporary American plays and musicals. The theater premieres new works by Washington area and regional playwrights drawing its audiences from the Washington metropolitan area and beyond. (For more Urban Light, Chris Burden, LACMA, Los Angeles, CA information, see addendum page 61.) 7 PUBLIC ART COMMITTEE 2010.12.13 Proposed locations at Tide Lock Park north: 1. Establish this park as a gateway to the Art Walk, beginning the pathway at the north end and moving southward, following the Potomac River shoreline 2. Work with the owners of Canal Center Plaza and the Mirant Power Plant to build a private/public collaboration as an alternative energy/public art project 3. Establish a cultural anchor on the northern end of the Art Walk by tying park activities into nearby cultural facilities, such as MetroStage 4. Commission and install a Light-Sculpture Garden in the park, inspired by the lighting fixtures and energy sources utilized throughout Alexandria’s history 5. Include solar collectors in the Light-Sculpture Garden to power the in-pavement lighting alongside the Art Walk pathway 6. Create and install signage giving an overview of the Art Walk 7. Include signage to distinguish the Art Walk from the bike path 8. Increase outdoor seating 8