Waukee Trailhead Public Art Installation Celebrates Official Ribbon Cutting
The dramatic sculptural icon serves as a colorful and whimsical connection between the past, present and future of the community.
On Tuesday, March 27, 2018, the city of Waukee, Iowa celebrated the official ribbon cutting and lighting ceremony to commemorate the completion of the Waukee Railroad Pergola: In the Shadows of the Rails, a dynamic integration of public art and infrastructure located at the trailhead of the Raccoon River Valley Trail in Dallas County. Based on the railroad's history in the development of the City of Waukee, the installation creates a unique experience for visitors and a new destination for bicyclists and pedestrians. The dramatic sculptural icon serves as a colorful and whimsical connection between the past, present and future of the community. Framed by a series of handmade ceramic-clad columns, more than 350 feet long, a trellis of railroad rails cast shadows that weave along the trail.
“This new trailhead gateway is the centerpiece of a regional vision plan to unify and enhance the 89-mile Raccoon River Valley Trail Corridor as a nationally recognized visitor destination,” said RDG Principal and Artist David Dahlquist. “Artists and designers depend upon many different elements orchestrated in a way in which the public is welcomed into and moved by the experience. In the process, we create memorable destinations and exciting new places. The Waukee Railroad Pergola is an example of how our team thoughtfully integrates art into public and private spaces.”
The primary goal for the integration of the public artwork centered on the design and creation of a major trailhead that would welcome the public to the City of Waukee and become a gathering area for the Raccoon River Valley Trail, the longest paved loop in the country. Another significant objective: “make it fun,” an active location to draw a new and larger audience to the trail communities. The project began with extensive artist facilitation and public input to inform the process and give direction to the conceptual development.
The installation functions in many different ways, with benefits related to health and recreation and as a catalyst for regional economic development, reaching out to other communities connected by the trail. Accompanying ornamental bollards wrap the trailhead to reinforce the “triangle,” symbolic of the original town center. LED illumination gives dimension to the structure and provides a colorful “light show,” thoughtful of the site as it changes from day to night.
Color-changing fixtures as well as static blue accent lights draw attention to the destination and help with wayfinding in the middle of a lot of urban sprawl. LED illumination gives dimension to the public art structure and provides a colorful “light show,” thoughtful of the site as it changes from day to night. The color-changing lighting adds an important safety feature for night riders and gives the installation special interest and flair as night descends. Light fixtures are carefully integrated into art element structures that provide shelter from birds and weather yet integrate fully with the linear expressions of the piece.