The History of Public Art at Metro Transit
The first public art piece commissioned by Metro Transit was a painted metal sculpture by Marcia McEchron. The work was designed, fabricated and installed along the top of a waiting shelter in downtown Saint Paul on Cedar Street and 4th Street in 1995. The sculpture depicted images of Minnesota trees, animals and events.
Over the next several years, Metro Transit dabbled a few more times with public art, mostly supporting the City of Minneapolis collection by providing a location for work owned by the City.
Then in 2000-2001, Metro Transit began planning the largest public art project in Minnesota, the art along the Hiawatha Line. Now known as the METRO Blue Line, the Hiawatha Line was the first light rail line in Minnesota and included public art integrated into each of the eighteen original stations. To accomplish this, Metro Transit created design teams for each station comprised of architects and artists. With preliminary designs in hand, Joan Mondale, wife of former Vice President Walter Mondale and nationally recognized arts advocate, joined the cause along with David Allen, Public Art Administrator for the Hiawatha Line. More art and more artists were added to the project, resulting in an initial collection of forty-eight artworks created by sixteen artists. Eventually, one more station was added bringing the total of public art pieces to fifty.
The Blue Line effort was an early example, in Minnesota, of large-scale placemaking. The design teams met several times with the surrounding communities to create designs that complimented and reflected the neighborhoods surrounding the stations. Artists were fully integrated into the design teams and there were few limitations, other than budget and safety, as to what the artists could develop. June 26, 2004, the Blue Line was opened from downtown Minneapolis to the Ft. Snelling Station and there was a celebration of the art at each station. December 4, 2004, the rest of the line to the Mall of America was completed and opened with much fanfare.
In 2009, with the development of Northstar Commuter Rail Line from Minneapolis to Big Lake, two more pieces were created, one at the Minneapolis terminal at Target Field and one at the Big Lake terminal. The work at the Target Field terminal was developed as part of the overall public art program for Target Field and was administered by Mary Altman, Public Arts Administrator for the City of Minneapolis. The work at Big Lake, a series of flying Canada geese, was administered by consultant Richardson, Richter & Associates.
