Elaborating on that "Arc of Sidewalk"

In Friday Construction Photo #13, I said I'd say more about an arc of sidewalk in the upper right of the photo; this is it. That arc is actually a fountain that spans two blocks in downtown Des Moines, cutting an arc around the Pappajohn Center to the new Central Des Moines Public Library. The design of the fountain suggests a stream with its headwaters at the east end of a similarly styled walk through the center of the western gateway. It's not uncommon to see people pausing on the benches along the walk or dipping their feet in the flowing water. I showed some folks wading in the photos from Wandering around at the 2007 Des Moines Art Festival. This visit, a mother and two young girls paused for fifteen minutes or more to wade up and down the block. It's quite a nice, surprisingly informal place to pause.