The Papago Park/City Boundary project is a collaborative effort between the cities of Scottsdale and Phoenix to commission a work of art which serves both as a boundary marker for the two cities as well as an entrance into Papago Park, an 890 acre desert park in southeast Phoenix.
Jody Pinto and Steve Martino's monumental stone sculpture celebrates Papago Park's identity as a major historic and ecological landmark in the valley. The tree-of-life design features seven 16-foot-high stone markers sited around a 240-foot-long stone wall, with seven radiating branches that outline a series of farming terraces. The structures are made from stacked and mortared field stone, similar with the park's historical W.P.A. ramadas. The markers serve as axis points directing viewers to municipal, historical and natural sites in the valley. They also align with the Summer Solstice, the longest farming day of the year. The main wall, which forms the trunk of the stone tree, functions as a water-harvesting aqueduct, distributing rains to seven farming terraces filled with native desert plants.
