St. Mary’s Park is directly across from Hall C of the Ernest Morial Convention Center on Convention Center Boulevard. Visitors to New Orleans who have attended conventions will remember it immediately for the five irregular concrete balls that face the convention center. They are about five feet tall, roughly round and cut with concentric grooves. The grooves are painted in a rainbow of muted, iridescent hues. Though the paint isn’t metallic, the balls fairly, faintly glow thanks to the paint.
The whole collection is a sculpture called “River Stones” by the artist Terry Weedon created in 1992. They are a pleasant and eye-catching addition to the city scape.
The park itself is bounded by Convention Center Blvd, Diamond Street and Fulton Street. There is a walkway down the center shaded by mature trees and benches are strategically placed to take advantage of both the shade and limited street views. The benches are concrete and shaped to resemble broken, square columns laid on their sides. All in all, this is a pleasant urban oasis at the edge of New Orleans’ Warehouse District that invites a pedestrian to rest a spell and then wander further into the city proper for further adventures.
Comments