(INTELLIGENCER JOURNAL NEW ERA: “Poetic flair for Penn Square. Next spring, a river of words will flow through Lancaster’s Penn Square.
“That river will consist of a poem embedded in stone in a winding pattern in the northwest corner of the city’s center square. The path of that river is intended to mimic the Conestoga River at the southern boundary of the city.
“The granite ribbon of poetry is part of a downtown streetscape project that includes a new brick sidewalk in that part of the square and a concrete grid that follows the columns of the adjacent Griest building. The existing concrete planters will be removed and replaced with smaller planters and tables with umbrellas…”)
The northwest corner of Penn Square is one of the few truly historic parts of downtown Lancaster that remain relatively unscathed. The Old City Hall (now the Visitors Center and Heritage Museum) and Central Market have undeniable historic value. The early 20th century Griest Building is on the National Register of Historic Places.
A curving granite “river of words” would be totally and completely out of character for the surrounding historic structures. It would be FAR more appropriate to update the northwest corner of Penn Square in a way that would complement the historic nature of the buildings there, rather than adding an ultra-modern abstract theme which would detract from their character.
It would be wonderful if all the time and money spent beautifying(?) the area around the convention center would be used to repair and update the infrastructure and streets of the city. Have those people with grandiose visions ever driven some of the neighborhood streets? I doubt it very much.