7th Ave and Camelback

Nubia Owens / Phoenix, AZ

The light rail line crosses the southwest corner of Central Avenue and Camelback, creating two large triangular plazas at each end. New York artist, Ilan Averbuch, the design team artist for many of the Central Avenue stations, took advantage of the real estate to create one of the largest works of art on the alignment.

The sculpture, called Landmark, is a massive 24-foot ring of desert stones framing the transit center access drive and Central Avenue itself. Through it, a line of abstract figures crosses a monumental threshold in an endless march, creating a feeling of motion and infinity. There is a Hopi belief that life is a circle that we enter at a particular place; this landmark represents an entry point.

Two nearby small sculptures, Trough and Seat and Tree, consist of a horizontal line of granite stones intersecting a concrete seat under the shade of a large tree. Water flows along the troughs and into the soil, reminding us of the area’s original canals and watering systems.