Unpainting the Park

They're stripped bare now.

These 54 columns at the corner of Highland Avenue and Glen Iris Drive are getting a facelift. For the past few weeks, workers have used pressure washers to remove layers of paint as part of a conservation project.

You may have passed this space many times and not have noticed. But the columns are public art by Sol Lewitt, a leading artist in the minimalist movement.

According to a plaque in front of the sculptures, they echo the city's skyline that is visible on the site's western horizon.

Well, perhaps the skyline that was visible in 1999 when it was completed.