FREDERICK DOUGLASS CIRCLE
New York, New York

Frederick Douglass Circle is one of the four great circles at each corner of Central Park. The New York City Departments of Transportation, Design, and Construction of Cultural Affairs sponsored this design competition commemorating Frederick Douglass, a 19th Century African American orator, author, and leader in the abolitionist movement. 

Secret symbols fabricated into quilts were critical instructions in the Underground Railroad Quilt Code for runaway slaves. Landscape Architecture is used to translate the language of the quilts into a physical narrative. Constructs of earth, stone, trees, grasses, metals, and water give spiritual distinction to the secret icons in a layered progression symbolic of a path to freedom. The true-north fountain wall, reflecting pool and hand forged fence reference the physical and mental tools required for endurance and progress. 
Algernon Miller, Artist - Gabriel Koren, Sculptor

Frances Levine Studio is proud to have been the landscape designer consultant to the award winning team for the Frederick Douglas Circle Art Project competition.