The Transformation of McKeesport from Fire to Water

Groundworks Installation Proposal:
Artists: Jackie Brookner, Stephanie Flom, Ann Rosenthal

Our installation for Groundworks will consist of two components: a wall installation and a floor model. The following provides an overview of each. Note that within this general framework, some elements may change and the order of the wall elements may be modified.

fire- to water installation

Wall Installation

The wall installation will suggest an interpretive kiosk that one might find in a visitor’s center or on a trail. The kiosk will be indicated by a canopy coming out from the wall. Currently, we are considering a semi- transparent stretched cloth, to give a futuristic feel. The wall will depict the year 2020, when our proposal has been largely implemented. Thus the wall serves as both documentation of the process of transforming McKeesport into a trail town, and as information for users of the trail in 2020.

Wall elements (on the mockup from left to right; note that order may change):

  1. Silhouette of water tower on the wall
  2. Shelf with complete 2004 Plan (binder of the Discover McKeesport packet)
  3. Timeline depicting the implementation of our “2004 Plan” with images of:
    Roundhouses: Water Museum, Trail Visitor’s Center with people and activities
    Confluence Park: Aliquippa’s Grove, Plaza, meadow picnic area
    Youth working on the trail
    Harrison Village with renovated townhouses, landscaping, and relocated trail
  4.  Trail Map with natural features and history
  5. Visitor’s Brochure (possible handout)
  6.  Shelf on right with 2018 Urban Conservation Excellence Awards (water bottles)
  7. Photos of awardees (community members who made this happen) receiving awards

Floor Model

This model will be approximately 9 x 12 feet and constructed of cardboard. It will include the same elements as the map in the Discover McKeesport Visitors Brochure as follows:

  • Youghiogheny and Monongahela Rivers
  • Railroad and Water Roundhouses
  • Confluence Park
  • Trails
  • Harrison Village
  • Green corridors connecting the rivers to downtown

The model is intended to be playful and imaginative and will not be precisely to scale or extremely detailed. In other words, it is not intended to have the accuracy and detail of an architectural model. There will be a correspondence between the printed trail map on the wall and the model on the floor.