Memento Sculpture: Kennywood

In my memento sculpture I am representing my memory(s) of Kennywood, an amusement park in Pittsburgh, PA that originally opened in 1898 as a "trolley park" and in 1906 an amusement park. Many of its structures and rides date back to the parks opening in the early 1900s. Growing up in PA I spent much of my childhood in Kennywood and often wish to go back.What I remember most about Kennywood are the roller-coasters, my favorite type of ride. The most noticeable coaster was the Steel Phantom, a huge steel construction that immediately caught the eye. Entering Kennywood it looked like a huge steel mountain. The Steel Phantom has been remodeled, and is now called The Phantom's Revenge due to whiplash injuries and modern technology. However, it is still one of my most favorite roller-coasters from my childhood.

Kennywood Entrance

For my sculpture my three materials are balsa wood, galvanized wire, and yellow ink. The balsa wood represents the wooden coasters I enjoyed as a child, the chips and fraying to show that the park and coasters are old and aged. The arrow shape and yellow color represent the sign entering Kennywood which was very distinct and is a symbol of the park itself often showing up on merchandise from the park. The wire represents the Steel Phantom, the metal the steel, the swirls the twists and turns of the coaster you go around and that spiral sensation as you go around them , and then when the wire goes back down it represents the steep plunge, that tall drop, of the coaster. The wire is going through the balsa wood to represent when the Steel Phantom actually goes through the wooden coaster The Thunderbolt.

side view

side view

front view (chips on top of front part of arrow)

top view (fraying and chips on front tip and back of arrow)

Steel Phantom
"The Steel Phantom is a 165 foot tall rollercoaster. It was built in 1991. The car goes down a height of 225 feet straight through the Thunderbolt going about 80 miles per hour. The ride is now called the Phantom’s Revenge."
To see more old photos and excerpts about the rides click the link:(http://old.bpsd.org/ims/Tech_Ed/8th%20Grade/Webpages_11-12/3rd-9wks_files/PD8/hinson.haley/rides.htm)