Likely in the summer of ’06, just before the old Guthrie was razed, my wife and I took a meander along the back, west, side of the newly built addition to the Walker Art Center. Curious to see the business end of the building, we leaned into the steep curve of Bryant Avenue, before cutting left, east into the parking lot that was behind the Guthrie back then. We threaded through parked trucks, dumpsters, and piles of abandoned pallets, shrink-wrap flapping in the wind, approaching the mass of the Walker. Looking south, up the hill towards Groveland Terrace, there was no sculpture-studded manicured turf. On that day, it was a tangle of struggling grass and weeds, an occasional plastic scrap blowing by.
“What’s that?” Linda asked, pointing to a dark opening in the hill, accessed by a narrow walk snaking downslope from Groveland. I shrugged my shoulders and we started up a worn dirt path to investigate.
We entered the tunnel, a bit sheepishly, two rule followers, looking around – was this thing open to the public? Were we trespassing? Anxious of being caught, a little nervous, we walked into this calm – a retreat with a sky aperture. “What is this and why is it here?” we both wondered. A bit awestruck, we lingered for quite some time – completely alone, not speaking – staring up. We sat watching the clouds pass, feeling grateful, feeling grace.
Sky Pesher has been described eloquently elsewhere, so I won’t try here. I’m confident it will remain my favorite human-designed/built space in the Twin Cities, no matter how many other spaces I may visit. It never fails to bring me peace and a renewed appreciation of natural places. I’ve visited in all seasons, in all kinds of weather, to watch the sun rise and set, and with the lucky timing to hear someone I didn’t know expertly improvise on a guitar (the acoustics are fantastic). I’ve shared intimate moments with my family and friends – many of my favorite photographs of my kids were taken inside. The space just has a way of making things more. More exquisite. More memorable. I’m drawn to Sky Pesher like a magnet. While it most likely will be an unfulfilled bucket-list wish, wouldn’t it be great to have a dinner party in there with a group of close friends?
It would.
