Penrose Square, Arlington, Virginia
Echo
The Virginia Commission for the Arts describes Echo and its contribution to the site: “As a member of Penrose Square’s landscape design team, Richard Deutsch created this interactive sculpture inspired by the Three Sisters Radio Towers, formerly located near Columbia Pike and Courthouse Road. Built in 1913 by the U.S. Navy as cutting-edge technology, the Towers broadcasted the first trans–Atlantic radio signal in 1915, connecting Arlington with the Eiffel Tower. They also introduced regular broadcasts of time signals — important navigational aids for ships at sea. When the National Airport opened in 1941, the Towers posed an aviation hazard and were taken down.
“Echo provides a modern interpretation of Arlington’s significant contribution to the history of communication. The concave elliptical parabolas carved into each monolith reflect and project sound, allowing words spoken into one stone to be heard by listeners at the other.”
• Location: Penrose Square, Arlington, Virginia
• Materials: Granite
• Dimensions: 12’ x 10’ x 5’ (each element)
• Commissioned by: Arlington Commission for the Arts public art program
• Landscape architect: Don Hoover, Oculus Landscape Architecture, Washington, D.C.