Public Art Projects

skate park Skateable Art Park

The Skateable Art Park provides a wide range of unique traits that cultivate a special sense of place, attract new visitors, and inspire people to come back to exercise, socialize, and explore. It features an enormous 10-foot-tall rattlesnake that honors the Florida A&M University, and Historically Black Community, as its larger-than-life centerpiece. The park is 540 feet long, contains a 300-foot street course, and is Florida’s longest snake run, at 225 feet long.

Team Pain, a Florida-based skate park design-build company created the park’s design. The snake’s head and neck were painted by local Tallahassee artist, Peter Koenig. Painting the snake feature and using FAMU’s colors let the snake come to life and added to the park’s artistic component.

skate park collage

Meet the Artist – Peter Koenig

Peter KoenigdragonPeter is a Tallahassee-based artist who creates works that are both beautiful and professional, capturing the color and originality of the places they represent. “I’m passionate about creating beautiful, inclusive, and accessible public art,” Peter said. “I believe that there is no better opportunity for engaging with art than in our own neighborhoods.” After graduating from Florida State University with a bachelor’s degree in Studio Art, Peter began his creative career by producing branding materials for local businesses in Tallahassee. His early designs combine simplicity with fun, fantasy-based aspects, with a nostalgic vibe influenced by some of his favorite films, comic books and video games. “My hope was that, by incorporating things that inspired excitement and imagination in myself as a kid, others would connect to those feelings, too.”

Ever since Peter was a young teenager, he has loved visiting local skate shops and bonding with fellow skaters of various skill levels, making his work with the Skateable Art Park’s FAMU Rattler sculpture more meaningful. Peter had to utilize his technical knowledge and skills to produce a striking and breathtaking piece of art that would be durable and resilient to skate on. “I am incredibly proud to create a piece of public art that invokes the proud history of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University and to have had the opportunity to connect with residents who lived in the area along the way. I will continue to make work that embodies these ideals, both around the world and in my own backyard,” said Peter.

Peter Koenig
park aerial view

Musical Parklet and Hammock Garden at Coal Chute Pond Park

The Red Hills Rhythm Musical Parklet at Coal Chute Pond Park is located off FAMU Way near the Skateable Art. This creative space is a place where residents and visitors can come together and enjoy themselves through the sounds of music. Directly behind the musical parklet, is a hammock garden where residents and visitors can bring their own hammocks and spend the afternoon relaxing.

history and culture trail
skateable art park
smokey hollow