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CCLRT Station Art Concepts

Central Corridor light rail station art concepts:
Raymond, Westgate, and Union Depot stations
Myklebust and Sears

Industry inspires artist team

Raymond Avenue Station

Their theme and inspiration are the Red River Oxcart Trail that passed near the station site, and the printing, press-related and industrial business activities located in the vicinity. They propose a set of carved black granite wheels to depict the oxcart and printing industry, and intricate artwork in raised safety screen of bronze wire mesh surrounding the carved granite.

Westgate Station

Themes of a vintage International Harvester tractor wheel and 1920s Willys-Overland car wheel are inspired by historic industry near the site. The tractor wheel alludes to the agricultural heritage of the larger region, and the car wheel broadly references the corridor’s transit theme. They propose a set of carved black granite wheels to depict the tractor and car wheels, and a bronze sculptural element to depict a stack of wheels of transit used in the corridor over time (same sculptural element at Union Depot, the two book-end or gateway of Central Corridor LRT stations in St. Paul). Large inset bronze lettering and directional arrow reading “Minneapolis” on the westbound platform and “St. Paul” on eastbound platform, and a rumble strip on the street surface would be placed at the border of Minneapolis and St. Paul.

Union Depot Station

A theme of rail transportation past and future is inspired by trains that would have passed through Union Depot at the time of its construction in the 1920s and that may someday pass through there again. They propose a set of carved black granite wheels (representing drive wheels of the P-2 Mountain Class steam engine from the Great Northern “Oriental Limited” train and “Empire Builder” train as well as modern, high-speed train engine wheel). At both ends of the south platform, a bronze sculptural element to clad a light column would depict a stack of wheels of transit used in the corridor over time (same sculptural element at Westgate Station, the two book-end or gateway of Central Corridor LRT stations in St. Paul).