Sheridan Memorial Park in Northeast Minneapolis recently underwent a $500,000 transformation — a makeover that includes a new playground, basketball court, picnic shelter, and public art.
While the grand reopening isn’t scheduled until spring, the park — which is built on an old Grain Belt site — is accessible now. In fact, the work showcased above, Ethos, has been there since summer 2014. That’s when the ribbon was first cut on the striking riverside memorial honoring Minnesota veterans from 10 separate conflicts.
Local artist Robert Smart created the 35’ x 35’ x 35’ sculpture, an internally illuminated steel and cast iron sphere of protective shields that’s almost Kubrickian in its otherworldliness. A closer look at the walkway lining the sculpture’s perimeter reveals quotes about peace engraved in granite — and steel markers with harrowing reminders of wars we seem all too doomed to repeat.
Go there. Take a moment. It’s hard not to be moved.
Sheridan Memorial Park
1300 Water St. NE, Minneapolis, MN; 612-230-6400.
