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Cultural Trail, Public Art

Landscape as Public Art

Introducing a new public artwork that is a gathering space, a garden, and more...

Feb 18, 2026/

Project Overview:

A landscape-based public art design is planned within Marquette Lions Lakeside Park as a public gathering space and functional outdoor extension of the future City Cultural Trailhead.

Using rows of native and near-native plants, the landscape itself becomes the artwork through color, texture, and seasonal change in the park. The project is designed to be experienced, not just viewed. The landscape will welcome visitors with intentional spaces designed to promote connections and curiosity.

Funded by private donors and managed by the City, this permanent installation will become part of Marquette’s Public Art Collection and become the first Marquette Cultural Trail site to fully implement the Trail’s circular gathering space design.

Location:

Marquette Lions Lakeside Park, 501 S Front St

Artist:

Urban Ecosystems Landscape Architects: Matthew Tucker as Lead Designer

Urban Ecosystems was the lead consultant and designer for the Shoreline Cultural Trail story markers, the future vision plan for the Trail, and landscape plans for the City Cultural Trailhead and the Peg Hirvonen Bandshell. Their work reimagines public spaces as cultural infrastructure, focusing on place-revealing rather than place-making.

Design:

The landscape is designed as a circular, sunken outdoor “room” within the park, creating an outdoor extension of the future City Cultural Trailhead’s public spaces. The design is meant to feel both open and comfortable. It will be a place to pause, gather, or simply pass through. Subtle sculptural elements and banded plantings will offer opportunities for contemplation and discovery.

The circular form is a visual connector to other sites along the Marquette Cultural Trail including the Peg Hirvonen Band Shell, the Seven Grandfathers Teachings site, and other sites in the Trail’s vision plan.

Hawthorne trees original to the historic park space will be preserved and a new grove of birch trees will create a sense of enclosure and filtered shade.

Carefully oriented views and gathering areas that guide how people move through the space and how they experience the surrounding park and lake.

Bands of native and near-native plant species arranged to provide color, texture, and visual interest throughout the seasons.

Built-in seating and resting areas that blend into the landscape and comfortably support both small gatherings and individual visitors.

Subtle artistic details woven into the landscape, such as inscribed stone or small sculptural features, invite curiosity and will change in prominence depending on the season.

Gathering Space:

The circular gathering area will be 40-feet in diameter and fully ADA accessible, with wheelchair-friendly paths connecting the space to the building entrance, nearby parking, and the existing accessible walkway in Father Marquette Park.

Historic Flagstone & Circular Wall:

“Comprised of reclaimed historic stone, the wall provides a material connection to the park’s cultural history as Lakeside Park. The garden wall acts as a focal point to the garden, creating a circular space where all can gather during any season.” – Matthew Tucker, Urban Ecosystems

Funding and Stewardship:

The project will be funded entirely through private dollars and grant support. A generous gift from the Eiben Family makes this landscape-based public art installation possible, covering both its creation and the long-term care of the garden. In addition to funding the installation, the contribution establishes a dedicated fund to support annual maintenance and any special repairs, ensuring that the garden remains an inspiring space for the Marquette community for generations to come.

The project will be an aesthetic enhancement to the grant funded exterior accessible pathway improvements at the new City Cultural Trailhead. (Michigan Department of Natural Resources SPARK Grant.)

The Eiben Family is donating in memory of their son, Erich Eiben.

Inspired by the overall design, the family will work with Urban Ecosystems to embed Erich’s story, inspirational words, and whimsical elements to discover.

Statement of Inspiration:

“A Marquette-born landscape architect, Erich’s upbringing in Marquette cast a career dedicated to creating spaces of nature in urban areas. His legacy will be marked in the garden by a record of his written thoughts. The garden will inspire others to see the beauty of nature in Marquette and beyond.”

– Matthew Tucker, Urban Ecosystems

Project Status & Next Steps:

As of February 2026, The proposed landscape-based public art installation has been reviewed and approved by the Marquette Public Art Commission (MPAC). It will next be reviewed by the City Commission for formal acceptance into the City’s Public Art Collection, which provides a framework for long-term care, maintenance planning, and public stewardship.

Installation of the public art landscape is planned during Summer 2026 in coordination with other site improvements at the City Cultural Trailhead. A soft opening of the site is planned Fall 2026 and formal dedication will be Spring 2027.

Community members are invited to provide feedback about this artwork and other projects by contacting City Arts & Culture Manager, Tiina Morin: (906) 228-0472 or tmorin@marquettemi.gov or during the MPAC Special Meeting on Wednesday, February 25, 2026 at 6:00 p.m. The meeting will be held in the Peter White Public Library Lions Club Room. Comments will be collected until Noon on Thursday, March 5th.

December 2020