City ‘parkette’ to debut for Whiskey Rebellion Festival
A parkette behind the George Washington hotel in Washington will get a facelift before its “soft opening” during the Whiskey Rebellion Festival in July.
A duck sculpture created by students at Western Area Career & Technology Center will be featured in the parkette behind the George Washington Hotel in Washington. The park will have a “soft opening” for the Whiskey Rebellion Festival in July.
A nearly empty lot in Washington will soon be transformed into a miniature park replete with ivy plants, bird baths, a gazebo and artwork.
City officials hope the unnamed parkette, located behind The George Washington hotel at East Wheeling Street and Shaffer Avenue, will be ready for a “soft opening” by the start of the Whiskey Rebellion Festival July 9.
The project is a collaborative effort between the property owners, city officials, WashArts and local students. WashArts received a $175,000 grant from the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation “to enhance and redevelop blighted public space,” said project manager Carmelle Nickens.
Green picnic tables built by carpentry and masonry students at Western Area Career and Technology Center are currently located in the parkette.
However, a cracked concrete wall enclosing the two parcels is an eyesore, Nickens said.
In order to attract more people to the public space, a rectangular gazebo and ivy plants will be placed along the back wall.
The gazebo, which is approximately 12 by 20 feet, was already ordered at a cost of about $7,000. The city contributed $5,000 using funds from a Local Government Academy grant.
Laura Jean McLaughlan, an artist with Pittsburgh Center for the Arts who is perhaps best known for her Animal Adventure mural near the Pittsburgh Zoo, will be creating a mural mosaic for the parkette.
Organizers hope that installation will be completed later this year, Nickens said.
Pittsburgh hosted an oversized rubber duck for a season, but Washington is getting its own quacky art installation.
Students at WACTC created a duck sculpture by repurposing old traffic signs that were collecting dust in a warehouse.
Crews also plan to paint and power wash the lot, weather permitting.
John and Shirley Richman, who own the vacant lots, granted the easements and will hand over the property to the city once it is fully developed.
In the second phase of the project, organizers hope to plant trees and install the final piece of artwork.
“It’s youth-generated,” said Mayor Brenda Davis, “and it was a way to engage the youth in such a great project.”