Cardinal Points giant cardinal

Richmond, Virginia, United States

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Animals and creatures

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Listed, not yet checked · Oct 2026

This Big Thing is recorded as still being here.

'Cardinal Points' is a 7-foot-high steel cardinal sculpture by Richmond artist Noah Scalin, installed in January 2026 at South Addison Street and Apple Alley, Richmond, Virginia, at the foot of a pedestrian bridge over the Downtown Expressway.

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Cardinal Points giant cardinal

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Site-level location · 37.5308° N, 77.4644° W

FIELD GUIDE

The story

Seen from the side, this sculpture is plainly a cardinal. Walk around to the front and, as the artist puts it, the bird vanishes into a grid. 'Cardinal Points', a 7-foot-high steel sculpture by Richmond artist Noah Scalin, stands where South Addison Street meets Apple Alley, at the base of what a release reported by WRIC called Richmond's only pedestrian bridge over the Downtown Expressway.

The Richmonder reported in December 2025 that the last block of South Addison Street in the Fan had long collected rubbish bins and litter, and that before the 1970s the Fan ran through more than a dozen streets into Byrd Park, Randolph and Oregon Hill until the expressway severed them and hundreds of families relocated. The Richmonder described the work as both a rendering of Virginia's state bird and a reflection on how redlining and highway construction tore apart Richmond neighbourhoods, with the grid standing for city streets.

According to the Richmonder, the development firm Markham Planning commissioned the piece for the adjoining Parkline townhome project as a gift to the city. The Richmonder reported in December 2025 that the Planning Commission voted unanimously to accept it, with the mayor's administration to review it, and that Parkline's grounds team would maintain the site. WRIC reported in February 2026 that local fabricator Chris Martin had installed the corten-steel work on 23 January, with a public unveiling set for 13 February; the artist's website lists it as unveiled on that date.

Horizontal steel planes form cubbyholes that Scalin hopes people will fill with notes, painted rocks or leaves. A member of the city's Public Art Commission told the Richmonder that it will be different every time you go by.

It stands at the end of a public street.

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PRACTICAL

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WHAT TO EXPECT

A 7-foot-high corten-steel cardinal at a street end by a pedestrian bridge. Walk around it to see the bird become a grid. Its cubbyholes are meant for visitors to leave notes or small items, so what you find will vary.

ACCESS

South Addison Street and Apple Alley, Richmond, Virginia, at the foot of the pedestrian bridge over the Downtown Expressway. It stands at the end of a public street.

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Landmarks and monuments

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