New benches at Barton Pond offer peaceful waterfront viewing
Visitors to the dam at Ann Arbor’s Barton Nature Area are in for a pleasant surprise. This fall, the Huron River Watershed Council with funding from the DTE Energy Foundation installed a set of three unique riverside viewing benches along Barton Pond.
The benches are the result of an artistic collaboration between Rizzolo Brown Design and local contractor IronWoodStone. The benches are inspired by nature and designed to be beautiful in form and innovative in function. HRWC engaged Rizzolo Brown Design to survey the river corridor from Milford to Lake Erie for places that could feature inspired design or art as part of the Huron River Water Trail project. HRWC, which in 2015 earned the Huron a National Water Trail designation, seeks to bring people to the river for enjoyment and recreation. Rizzolo Brown developed an “ideas book” based on site visits to numerous park locations along the river that HRWC has shared with communities all along the Water Trail for potential projects.
We hope you will visit and enjoy the benches!