4. Hell Gate Cairns in Riverside Park

The installation, Hell Gate Cairns, by artist Samantha Holmes is on view in Riverside Park South, near 66th Street. The sculptures are comprised of a series of stacked stone pillars, or cairns, that “stand watch over the western coastline of Riverside Park.” The artist brings attention to her choice of material, boulders, which were remnants of the great earth moving projects of the 20th century “that cleared the city’s waterways, including the perilous Hell Gate.” The cairns are a symbol of the ancient sign of treacherous waters, and their vertical placement is a symbol of the skyline. Hell Gate Cairns will be on view to August 11, 2018.