Citygarden Is Getting 3 New Sculptures, With One Being Installed Now

Turning ten is cause for celebration — and Citygarden (801 Market Street) plans to do it in grand style. The downtown public art oasis is having a new sculpture installed for the occasion in May, along with two temporary works. The three sculptures will be the first to be installed in the garden since The Big Suit in 2011.

The permanent sculpture is a secret for now, and so is one of the short-term ones. (Can you bear the suspense?)

However, construction is already underway on the third newcomer. It's visible in park's southeast quadrant, close to 8th Street and Market. The sculpture, Floyd Elzinga's Unzip the Earth, will depict a giant zipper opening up the grass to reveal dirt below.

The most whimsical piece of Elzinga's creation, the stainless steel zipper pull, is not in place yet, but a spokesman says it'll be set by the Cardinals' home opener on Tuesday, April 4. The teeth, however, are firmly set in the ground. Fittingly for St. Louis, they're made of brick.

Unzip the Earth will be here through fall. Stay tuned for more details on the other new sculpture residents' arrivals and for information on Citygarden's tenth birthday celebration in July.

And in the mean time, happy birth year to our favorite downtown resident. Citygarden is indisputably one of the coolest things in town; we can't wait to see what the next decade brings.

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