Art Detail
- Title: Parting the Prairie
- Artist: Christine Rojek
- Location: Water St. between Main St. and Washington St.
- Medium: Sculpture
- Installation Date: 2006
- Description: An interactive sculpture celebrating the city's railroad heritage.
- Plaque Text: Children love trains and often watch them from the windows on the upper level directly behind this huge, kinetic sculpture which itself can also be viewed from those same windows. It uniquely portrays movement and progress, linking Naperville's past with the future as an intriguing piece of history, engineering and art. Wheels at ground level activate the vividly colored steam engine's piston and bell above the "cow catcher" and also the children's figures on the handcar. Meanwhile, breezes cauce the aluminum and stainless steel prairie grasses to sway gently reflecting a ghost image of our original landscape. Ultimately, homage is paid to the many railroads that served our developing community continually since 1864.
Audio Tour
- Parting the Prairie
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