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Ruocco Park Public Art Concept to be Featured at Public Meeting

Thursday, 08 July 2010
Contact: Marguerite Elicone (619) 686-6222

The artist selected by the Port of San Diego to incorporate public art into the design of Ruocco Park will be presenting his concept in a public meeting. The meeting will be held from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 15, 2010, in the Port of San Diego's Board Room, 3165 Pacific Highway (map).

Roman de Salvo, a San Diego artist who designed and installed several public art projects throughout the region, will present his public art concept for the park. His concept will complement the designs of the park's landscape architect, Dennis Otsuji, and will include a sculptural element that will welcome visitors to the San Diego Bay waterfront.

Ruocco Park is a 3.3- acre park planned for the southwest corner of West Harbor Drive and Pacific Highway at the former Harbor Seafood Mart site, just north of Seaport Village. The design will include space for activities, events and gatherings, as well as seating, tables and quiet areas.

The Port received a $3.5 million grant from the San Diego Foundation, a leading San Diego charitable organization that manages the Lloyd and Ilse Ruocco Fund, to help pay for the park. Lloyd Ruocco was an influential architect credited with starting the modern architectural movement in San Diego. He and his wife, Ilse, started a trust fund more than 25 years ago to help build and maintain parks in the central area of San Diego.

In addition to Roman de Salvo's presentation, Dennis Otsuji will give an update on the design status of the park. Otsuji, is with ONA, Inc., a San Diego firm that has designed projects at NTC/Liberty Station and the Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

Roman de Salvo was selected by a community-based selection panel and awarded the public art contract for Ruocco Park. His works include the 125-foot-long "Nexus Eucalyptus" at the Caltrans District 11 building in Old Town, public art at the New Children's Museum in San Diego, as well as art at Alvarado Medical Center and at the San Diego Trolley's Green Line Center.

Construction for Ruocco Park is anticipated to begin in early 2011.