The Verdant Walk, a temporary art and landscape installation

The Verdant Walk is a temporary public art installation that stands in view of Marshall Fredericks' beloved Fountain of Eternal Life on downtown Cleveland's historic Mall, the grand civic space resulting from plans laid out by Daniel Burnham and associates in the City Beautiful era.

How it Started

The Verdant Walk is the second of two public art installations sponsored by the Mall Plaza Beautification Fund on Mall B. The fund, established in the 1960s to maintain and improve the Mall, previously sponsored Brian Tolle's For the Gentle Wind Doth Move Silently, Invisibly.

Other Facts

The project brings more than 4,000 square feet of native Ohio grasses and a family of seven sculptures to Mall B.

In the warm months, the sculptures are covered with form-fitting fabric sheathing and are lighted internally at night. The lights are powered by energy generated from solar panels woven into the fabric of the covers. In the winter, the covers are removed from the sculptures, leaving their intricate metal frameworks exposed.

The forms of the Verdant Walk's sculptures are designed to refer to Cleveland's relationship to industry, craftsmanship, and innovation. They represent the use of new technologies and materials, thereby suggesting possibility.

The landscaping is a mixture of six native Ohio grasses, ever changing in appearance, which were cultivated for the project by the Ohio Prairie Nursery of Hiram, a specialist in regional landscapes. In celebration of Cleveland's relationship to the water, the grasses are arranged to capture the winds coming off Lake Erie.

The installation is maintained in partnership with ParkWorks.