Saint Luke's Pointe

The redevelopment of the former Saint Luke’s Hospital site at East 116th Street and Shaker Boulevard in the Buckeye neighborhood includes the Harvey Rice School and a relocated branch of the Cleveland Public Library. To the west of the Harvey Rice Campus, the historic hospital structure will be redeveloped as an affordable intergenerational living facility.

Saint Luke’s Pointe, the overarching name for the redevelopment of the hospital grounds and adjoining neighborhood, is slated to become one of the city’s first “LEED-ND” (green neighborhood) developments. CPA engaged an artist to work with the design team on unifying the campus through artwork-- artwork that tells the history of the site and the neighborhood while supporting the goal of a comprehensive learning environment.

How it Started

In July of 2008, CPA invited three artists to visit Cleveland and tour the Buckeye neighborhood and Saint Luke’s area. An advisory committee consisting of representatives of Buckeye Area Development Corporation, the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, the Cleveland Public Library, Neighborhood Progress, Inc., ParkWorks, and architects from the two building projects participated in interviews of all three artists.

The advisory committee selected artist Martha Jackson Jarvis of Washington, DC, to take on the project and serve as the design team artist. Jackson-Jarvis is a sculptor, ceramicist, and nature-based artist.

Other Facts

As a way to integrate public art onto the site, Jackson Jarvis created intricate title mosaics to be placed around the planter by the school and around the large oak tree on the northwest corner of East 116th Street and Shaker Boulevard. She also used boulders excavated from the site and placed them along the paths leading to the school and library. The patterning for the tile work is based on different traditions of quilting. The patterns used reference the variety of cultures and ethnicities that currently live or have lived in the Buckeye Neighborhood.

The Outcome

The Saint Luke’s project uses public art as a tool for creating an environment that is intellectually stimulating for students and other members of the community.