Park Address: 230 N 4th Ave, Ann Arbor MI 48104
Hours and Rules
Open 6 a.m. - midnight with quiet hours starting at 10 p.m. Refer to Chapter 39 of the City of Ann Arbor Code of Ordinances for park regulations and rules. Smoking is prohibited, and dogs must be on leash.
Overview
Sculpture Plaza is a small park downtown that is an oasis where downtown Ann Arbor meets Kerrytown, at the corner of 4th Avenue and Catherine
Street. View the Ann Arbor Parks & Nature Areas Map for location context. The Kerrytown Arch sculpture is central to the plaza, celebrating the gateway
between the two areas. The plaza is used as a walk through
to the Kerrytown Shops, local restaurants, The Peoples’ Co-Op, the Ann Arbor Farmers Market and the Artisan’s Market. It has four
picnic tables and two long seating sections for enjoying local food and relaxing.
Access and Parking
The park has no dedicated parking, but there is paid metered parking at two lots directly across the street. There is also paid metered parking on several nearby streets. View the Ann Arbor DDA's guide to Parking in Downtown Ann Arbor to learn more about parking downtown.
The park is accessible by foot and bicycle using the surrounding streets. Catherine street has a protected bike lane. There are four bike racks in the park.
Public Transportation
There is a bus stop next to the park. Visit The Ride for schedule and route details or check out the parks ride guide.
Amenities
Volunteer
There are many opportunities for volunteering and getting engaged with the Ann Arbor Parks and Recreation Services Unit. GIVE 365 and the seasonal Adopt-a-Park Program offer volunteer opportunities with many levels of commitment.
Report a Problem - A2 Fix It
To report any maintenance issues or other problem during your park visit, please report through A2Fix It. Keep in mind that parks are large spaces and A2 Fix It requests can be hard to find without detailed information. When reporting an issue in a park please include location details. There is a details and description section near the end of the request process to help you provide this. Users can also utilize the pin (website) or X (mobile app) feature to provide specific location information inside the park. Please consider including a wide angle photo, which helps staff find and fix the problem.
Gifts and Donations
Information on donating to the parks and the Guide to Giving can be found here. If you have a park improvement idea, a great place to start is through Adopt-a-Park and the proposing a special park project guide. For information on donating a tree through Adopt-a-Park, the tree donation guide can help you get started.
History
Ann Arbor's city parks sit on the ancestral and traditional homelands of several indigenous Native peoples. Read a land acknowledgement from the city and learn more about the early history of the land here.
The Arch Sculpture, aka The Kerrytown Arch, was initially erected 1977 through a grant from the Michigan Council For the Arts. It is 18 feet of steel. The sculptor, David Heberling, graduated from University of Michigan with an MFA. In his words, “The history of the triumphal arch dates back to the Romans, who scattered them as a mark of their conquests in Italy, France, North Africa, and Asia. This 'arch' updates that ancient lineage with recent elements from cubism, minimalism, and modernist abstraction. It functions here as a symbolic gate, a segue between the downtown business district and Kerrytown." (From Public Art in Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County, by Martha R. Keller & Michael J. Curtis, 1995.) Courtesy of Ann Arbor Public Art Commission
The Arch was removed in 2007 for restoration by Giorgio Gakas of Venus Bronze Works Inc in Detroit. Graffiti was removed, the corten steel was repaired, the piece repainted and reinstalled in 2008. The DDA upgraded the plaza by repaving the bricks, adding new lights, bike racks, benches and tables.
There is a sign in the park which provides a glimpse to 1879 life in Kerrytown, entitled A Supply Side of Town.
Park Adopters
The two large gardens in Sculpture Plaza are adopted by the People’s Food Co-op who maintain them by weeding, pruning and mulching each year. Contact Adopt-a-Park if you are interested in volunteering.
