A Giant Pyramid Will Soon Be Floating in Fort Point Channel

It will be made of foam, and resemble the cobblestone that once made up Boston's streets.

Photo Courtesy of FPAC member Denise Bosco on Tumblr

Photo Courtesy of FPAC member Denise Bosco on Tumblr

Fort Point is getting a new structure, but it won’t be home to luxury condos.

The Fort Point Arts Community announced Monday that designer Don Eyles has been selected to construct a 16-foot-wide, 10-foot-tall pyramid, made completely from polystyrene, to be placed in the channel this month, celebrating the organization’s 35th Annual Open Studios event and upcoming Public Art Series.

Called “PYR 2014,” the outside surface of the pyramid will be made to resemble granite cobblestone before it’s launched into what’s known as the “Art Basin”—the water space that’s packed between the adjacent Summer and Congress Street Bridges—from October 12 through November 15.

Organizers supporting the installation, which will serve as a symbol of the 10-year relationship shared between the Fort Point Arts Community and the Friends of Fort Point Channel, will then move the structure south of the Summer Street Bridge. They hope to keep the structure around for at least five years, transitioning it from spot to spot in the harbor area.

Eyles said the pyramid is a hat-tip to Boston’s rich history, and the cobblestone roads that live beneath the now-paved streets.

“Consider the history that has passed along the cobbled streets of Boston—all the men and women, famous or unremembered, who have walked and rode here, crossed our bridges, gathered in our public spaces, imported and exported, bought and sold—always with granite cobblestones beneath their feet and wheels,” he said in a statement about the project. “I have long dreamed of making this history tangible.”

Although no real cobblestones will be part of the installation, members of FPAC said that the realistic look of Eyles’ artwork will likely play tricks on people’s eyes as they pass by the channel and spot the pyramid bobbing in the waters.

Eyles, a photographer and builder whose professional accolades include work on NASA projects at MIT, blends his engineering background into his work, mixing art with precise scientific calculations.

You can follow Eyles’ progress on the pyramid project on Tumblr, where members of FPAC have been documenting the building process and uploading images as it nears completion.