This statue has so much beautiful movement implied– I love the way the figures are leaning back as if they are holding each other up as they celebrate.

From Discovering Pittsburgh Sculpture:

These men with their arms locked together [represent] the strong and the weak; the affluent and the poor; the educated and the underprivileged; this is one society, one community.

I only wish it was in a more accessible location!

It used to be at the intersection of Penn and Highland, but in 1990 it was moved to its current location behind the East Liberty Presbyterian Church at Baum Blvd and Whitfield Street. It’s right in the middle of the intersection on this little island. It really deserves to be somewhere where people would walk near to it, sit next to it, etc.

It was moved when the East Liberty Mall was opened to traffic. I wish I had been in Pittsburgh when there weren’t cars allowed in that area– one of the things I like most about European cities are the pedestrian zones, and this statue in particular would fit right in.

It’s going to be interesting to watch as the East Liberty neighborhood continues to evolve– the building on one side of the sculpture is under construction, as are many others in the area.

In Discovering Pittsburgh Sculpture, the fountains in the middle of the circle and around the circle look a lot higher than they were when I went to take pictures last month. I don’t know if they just weren’t turned on all the way or if the fountains were modified for the move.

It’s made out of Cor-Ten steel that rusts to form a protective layer– it’s the same material that the USX tower is made of.

Cantini has many of his works around the city, especially at Pitt. While doing research, I found this great story about someone meeting him. From that and the other things I’ve read about him, it seems like he was a really interesting person.

Arch's right side

The Transformer-like sculpture is made of steel and fiberglass and stands 20 feet tall looking out over the river at PNC Park.

Installed in August 2008, Arch was slated to remain in his location at the corner of Seventh Street and Fort Duquesne Boulevard for six months. He’s still there, though, I took these pictures of him on March 5, 2010. I haven’t found any information about why he’s still around, but I’m glad. Arch makes me smile every time I go by.

I love seeing Pittsburgh’s bridges in a different context– they’re so familiar yet surprising as a robot. He’s got the Smithfield Street Bridge for his right upper arm that evokes muscles, and one of the arch bridges (Birmingham, perhaps?) as his turtle-shell back.

Arch at night

He’s gotten a lot of reactions from locals and tourists alike, which I think is another testament to its success. It’s definitely not a sculpture that just blends into the landscape! It’s also really accessible to a wide range of people– abstract or historical sculpture isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but in my searching of opinions about Arch on blogs, I haven’t found a negative reaction. Sure, auto blog Jalopnik thinks it’s scary, but scary awesome, not scary bad.

It’s been seen as having many interpretations such as a “a bridge to the future, a bridge to the past, or Rick Sebach’s Bridge to Nowhere”. One visitor said it was the most delightful thing in downtown Pittsburgh! I think my favorite reaction to this is from OMGPittsburgh– Arch is a serendipitous reminder “to keep us questioning JUST HOW MUCH we, Pittsburghers, know about this amazing city we call ours”.