One of the first projects realized from the Allentown Arts & Nature Framework Plan, The ArtsWalk connects the Soldiers and Sailors monument at Center Square to the Allentown Art Museum. The transformation of a tertiary alleyway into a linear pedestrian-forward promenade links multiple creative entities, retail, restaurants and residential uses along its arts-infused armature. The ArtsWalk was envisioned and continues to be realized as a legible continuous thread unified in site elements and material vocabulary as it transitions between cultural institutions, social spaces and amenities. The second phase creates a flexible plaza with custom catenary lighting, custom furnishings, and verdant planting that activates the streetscape across from historic Miller Symphony Hall and its noble east-facing façade. In future phases The ArtsWalk will continue across the street to the south of Miller Symphony Hall.
The third phase of The ArtsWalk has been created between a new residential structure and the north façade of Miller Symphony Hall creating an opportunity for gathering and sinuous passage. Sculptural benches custom-designed by DAVID RUBIN Land Collective at the center of the space are framed by ascending rows of custom crystal lanterns. On the ground, a paving pattern devised through coding crescendos at the center of the space, dissipating into lighter tones at each end of the linear plaza. With adjacency to the Allentown Art Museum and Baum School of Art, a large sculpture by Ernest Shaw in the center of the plaza has been restored to its original vibrant red.
Phases four through six – Court Street, the Hamilton Connector, and the Pocket Park – are currently under construction, and will be completed in spring of 2019.
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