Skyway Park Gateways are a Go!
How do you make a park a beacon? What turns a green space into a gathering place? These are questions Skyway has been wrestling with for the past year. So, this August, Pomegranate Center teamed up with Skyway community members to host a two-day workshop. Together, we designed, carved, and painted seven spectacular columns to act as gateways and dramatically mark the major entrances to Skyway Park. These new columns will make the park shine, increasing visibility, way-finding, and simple visual beauty.
As Pomegranate Center’s 2009 DIG Fund partner, we’ve been involved with the Skyway community for the past year, working to revitalize the community, filling it with art and personality, and making it a place to be proud of. One of the major goals of this partnership has been to rejuvenate Skyway Park. We hope to create a vital center for the community, a green heart for Skyway.
Over the course of the workshop, Skyway Boys and Girls Club members went out into the park and created column designs inspired by the nature they saw. Seven designs were chosen, and then community members, volunteers, and the Friends of Skyway Park teamed up with Pomegranate Center to carve the designs into the columns, stain them and make them ready to shine. The King County Parks & Recreation Department graciously installed the finished columns at key points throughout the park.
Thanks to these gateways, the park is now more visible from the surrounding town center. The community’s involvement from the beginning of the project has helped foster a sense of stewardship and pride towards the park. It’s a real part of the community now and a vibrant place for the neighborhood to connect. We’ve had a great time working together throughout the workshop and over the past year, and can’t believe how far Skyway has come. Let’s keep up the amazing work!