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National Recreation Trails Program

Art along trails in the Quad Cities of Iowa and Illinois

The Quad Cities are hosting the 18th National Trails Symposium, October 19-22, 2006

A variety of art, sculptures, fountains, installations, and creative signs and interpretive displays are arrayed along the trails system of the Quad cities. The Quad Cities, located right on the Mississippi River, include the cities of Davenport and Bettendorf, Iowa; Rock Island and Moline/East Moline in Illinois. The Quad Cities has a highly developed riverfront trails and greenways system that connects the region and hosts many interesting elements of art.

	Sculptures along the RiverWay, Bettendorf, IA, Locks and Dams

The Leach Park Fountain interprets the heritage of the working river. There are 15 stair steps leading down to the fountain plaza. The community groups became interested in using each step to represent the river lock and dam system from the Twin Cities to the Quad Cities Text. Spindles were fabricated out of stainless steel with rotating text panels that mimic the action of the locks.

The fence and text spindles are aesthetically attractive, designed for public safety and environmental resiliency. The fence is a 140-foot horseshoe shaped perimeter that will serve as a levee barrier and an interpretative backdrop to the fountain. These moving panels will be self-aligning and have information about each lock and dam community's economy cut through or etched on their surface. The spindles will be set on pattern that follows the course of the Mississippi.

The spindle component was funded by grant from the Scott County Regional Authority with matching support from the McKnight Foundation to the River Action, Inc., RiverWay project.

An interpretive panel for the painting "Sunday Afternoon on the Isle of La Grande Jatte" by Georges Seurat

	The original Seurat painting; click to enlarge

"Sunday in the Park" is an art installation of life-sized painted wooden figures. It depicts the island's past as a Victorian recreation spot, and was inspired by the pointillist painting "Sunday Afternoon on the Isle of La Grande Jatte" by Georges Seurat.

	The Seurat figures along the Mississippi