For many years this focus on the river as a studio site has been lingering. The river is a historical, natural, industrial, recreational, spatial, and poetic/symbolic form. When I’ve researched doing a studio on the river it seems that doing a studio on a bridge would be quite interesting. It is a bit brash and showy, but also a great visual and conceptual place from which to take in the river.
There is a pedestrian bridge right in the center of town that I just found out is called the Gillette Bridge. It is essentially “Lyon Street”. I runs between the old Civic Auditorium entrance to DeVos Hall and the Gerald R. Ford Museum.
Practical issues include what shelter we would have and use. Options include a camping trailer, an office trailer, a shipping container, or a semi trailer.
I was worried about bathroom facilities. Then I found that there are bathrooms right in the park by the Ford Museum. They are open 8-8pm every day.
The bridge is one of the designated sites for Art Prize. If we did the project on the bridge there might be a way to be a part of Art Prize.
If we could get a hold of a trailer, that could fit on half (width) of the bridge… This is a great location in between GR Ford Museum and the Amway Grand. The Exhibitors Building looks pretty cool too, but more formal vibe… Also there is a great amphitheatre on the east end of the bridge for possible performance work.
I’m did a little more research on the bridge’s history. It was called the interurban bridge at first because it originally carried interurban(s): An Interurban is a type of electric passenger railroad. It was later on renovated for pedestrian use.
http://www.historicbridges.org/michigan/grandinterurban/index.htm
The possibility of the Gillett Bridge as a site at first worried me a bit, paul described it best as ‘a bit brash’ but I’m also excited by the potential, especially after looking into the bridge a little more.
As far as the art prize goes, it could be really interesting to be involved – but I’m a little confused as to what exactly that would entail, the bridge is listed as a ‘venue’?
http://www.artprize.org/venue/id/20
Christie,
This is great research on the bridge. I think the interurban ran from Detroit through GR over to the lakeside - maybe even to South Haven? Correct me if I’m wrong. I’d also heard that it ran very frequently. I sometimes wonder if it ran right through Allendale. We forget that rapid transit is an old idea. The story of how we migrated away from that is a highly relevant story for public life and it’s impact on public space.
I’m checking into the availability of the bridge. Sounds as if it might be used for several projects.
Word is that the Gillette Bridge will be curated by an institution. I’m scouting other River-side locations and working on trailer options.