Playground Design Contest Winners

Posted on by Talore Ruedt

Earlier this year, the City of Duluth held a public design contest for a large-scale piece of playable art for the Town Green in Taylor Park. The contest ran from April 12 – May 13, 2022 and was open to Gwinnett County residents of all ages. Submissions were judged on imagination and creativity, uniqueness, and ability to capture the selfie-spirit!

175 qualifying submissions were received with the youngest artist being just three years old! Designs ranged from sea creatures to tree houses, pirate ships to crash landed satellites and musical instruments to giant animals. The Duluth Public Art Commission had a tough task of analyzing the submissions and narrowing them down to a top nine. On July 25, 2022 the Mayor and Council used those top nine to determine their top three winning designs. All submissions were judged blindly with names being removed to ensure fairness.

On August 8, 2022 the top three winners were recognized at the Council Meeting for their submissions. First place was awarded $1,000, a Duluth merch gift set and they will receive a feature in Duluth life following the completion of the project along with a display plaque at the playable art. Second place was awarded $750 and a Duluth merch gift set. Third place was awarded $500 and a Duluth merch gift set.

1st Place – Lyn-Nell Huffman

Lyn-Nell Huffman and Mayor Nancy Harris

2nd Place – Jackson McGregor

Jackson McGregor and Mayor Nancy Harris

3rd Place – Megan Vladick

Megan Vladick and Mayor Nancy Harris

The Willow Tree design will be used for inspiration when the new piece of playable art is designed. City Staff will send out a Request for Qualifications in August to proceed with the first-place design. Construction is anticipated to begin in late 2023.

 

The City of Duluth would like to thank everyone who took the time to enter the Playground Design Contest.

Main Street Closure Extended

Posted on by Talore Ruedt

We’re going to level with you here. Our communications team is struggling to find the right words to break the news, so we’re just going to rip off the band-aid and lay it all out there; the Main Street closure has been extended through at least the end of July.

 

We know this can be frustrating, so to lighten the mood, we invite you to share with us your favorite (family-friendly) meme below, construction related or not. Couldn’t we all use a good laugh?

 

While updating the stormwater infrastructure, crews found other unmarked utilities that will now require additional care, specialized equipment and further planning and design in the field. You never know what “fun” surprises you may encounter when digging through 150 years of developments, right?

 

The roadway will continue to be blocked at the intersection of West Lawrenceville Street and Main Street down to the Main Street entrance to City Hall. The construction zone (Red Zone) will temporarily include the drive aisle that leads from Main Street to the rear parking lot behind Pure/Red Clay/Mathias building, it will cross Main Street and connect to the paver lot construction zone.

 

The entire Red Zone will be OFF LIMITS TO PEDESTRIANS for safety reasons.

 

We will continue to make the most of these growing pains by providing in-street seating and occasional live music during the road closure. You know, all those fun community vibes that Duluth is known for!

 

Be assured that during the closure, full pedestrian access to Town Green and all Downtown businesses will still be available. Please refer to the Yellow Pedestrian Zones on the map that highlights existing paths to Town Green.