GHOST PRAIRIE
- Design and Construction
- Thoughtbarn
- Digital Fabrication
- BBIITT
- Budget
- $15,000
- Dimensions
- 20'l x 4'w x 3'h
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.