GHOST PRAIRIE

The final stretch of the first transcontinental railroad, the 'Prairie Line', lies abandoned through downtown Tacoma.  It was so-called in reference to the vast Southern Washington prairies it once crossed to reach its terminus.  Today, only 3% of the original 160,000 acres of native prairie remains.  Our landscape of 'artificial prairie', made from laser-cut masonite and gradients of colored zipties, calls attention to the ecological past of the railroad and its future as a linear park through the city.  We pre-fabricated the masonite structure in Austin and reassembled it in Tacoma - and attached the 3000+ zipties - with the help of high school students from SoTA (School of the Arts), whose campus lies adjacent to the railroad.