Client: Arlington County VA

Overview

For Arlington, Virginia’s Western Gateway, near Columbia Pike and South Jefferson Street, artist Donald Lipski was selected to create a welcoming gateway sculpture in conjunction with the county’s Multimodal Street Improvement project. This Brancusi-like sculpture, entitled The Pike, features the blade of a wind turbine, measuring 50 feet tall, that sits atop a base studded with thousands of coins from more than 100 countries, represented by the citizens of what is perhaps the most ethnically diverse population of any city in the country. These coins further reference the history of the Columbia Pike as a toll road and one of the oldest thoroughfares in the region as one enters Arlington from the west, while the sculpture’s orientation suggests the welcoming, upright position of a toll gate. Residents of Columbia Pike collected, counted, and sorted the donated 4,784 coins from 117 countries and every continent (except Antarctica).

Goals

The Pike celebrates the history of this place and the diversity of the local community, serving as a welcoming gateway into Arlington County from Bailey's Crossroads in Fairfax County.

Process

Public Art Services worked with artist Donald Lipski to provide creative design and project management services for this project. Fabrication and installation services provided by Silo Workshop with oversight by Public Art Services.