1996, Philip Tefft of Ralph Appelbaum Associates. 1997, addition. Kent St. to N. 17th St.
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(By Ben Schumin (Own work) [CC BY-SA 2.5], via Wikimedia Commons)
An illustration of what might be done with unused freeway ramps in the future, this is an adaptation of a 1,000-foot-long freeway ramp so poorly constructed that it could not be used. It was ingeniously transformed into an urban park by the owners of the Newseum (Gannett, USA Today, and Westfield Realty), which sits at its center (see next entry). The park, which can be accessed from a number of points, is a series of terraces inscribed with quotations. It serves as a setting for “icons of freedom” such as a door from a jail cell that held Martin Luther King, segments of the Berlin Wall, stones from the Warsaw ghetto, and a memorial to journalists who have died on duty.