Save the Wells Street Art Park

It's not often I get to see the work of an environment builder while it's still being built. Unfortunately for Arjo Adams of Saint Paul, his environment has attracted the attention of the city and it probably will be destroyed.


Adams has made his east side yard and the empty lots on either side of it, located at 676 Wells Street, into an art site that was open to the public.

The lot to his east is almost all a big hill, descending to what used to be a rail line, I assume. The city wants to turn the land at the foot of the hill into a bike path, which sounds great. But there should be away for the park to stay, too.


Adams has terraced the land with stone walls and steps. Along the way there are picnic tables, sculptures, trees, and flowering plants.


He generally has the support of all the neighbors, too.




Some of the pieces have become participatory, like this picnic table.

The park is now fenced off from the street, and marked with this sign, but Adams let me walk through from his yard:


If you care about saving this bit of people's art, you can sign a petition at change.org, find out more on Facebook, or call your city council member (if you live in Saint Paul).