Ellen Kort Peace Park
Ellen Kort was named Wisconsin’s first poet laureate in 2000. A beloved Appleton poet, teacher and mentor, she had a remarkable ability to make people feel valued and heard. Her writing frequently explored beauty, humanity, grief and peace—making her name particularly fitting for a new public space along the Fox River.
In 2016, Sculpture Valley introduced a resolution to name the former water-treatment plant and WE Energies brownfield site along Water Street in her honor. Later that year, Sculpture Valley convened the Ellen Kort Peace Park Initiative Committee, bringing together Kort family members, neighborhood representatives, alderpersons, arts advocates and residents to develop a design brief for the future park.
That work helped inform concepts prepared by Lunde-Williams, LLC, which imagined something considerably more ambitious than a conventional riverfront trail. Early plans explored gathering spaces, overlooks, public art, programming areas and a pedestrian landbridge connecting the park across Water Street.
Funding ultimately allowed only a portion of that vision to be realized. A hardscape riverfront trail, lighting and benches were constructed, but many of the larger elements envisioned for Ellen Kort Peace Park were never built. The site has continued to evolve, and Sculpture Valley remains involved in bringing public art and elements of the original creative vision to the park.
THE ORIGINAL VISION
Sculptural Benches
Boardwalks and Bridges
Structures
Concept A. Includes Landbridge over Water St., Island overlook and small Trailhead Shelter