Katherine Ross - Kid's Wall
Located at the Longshore Pool, Westport, CT, the Kids'Wall was conceived by
Katherine Ross to honor & celebrate the creative spirit of Westport’s children.
Designed & Created by Westport’s 5th, 6th, 7th & 8th grade students,
Katherine Ross & Miggs Burroughs
Dedicated May 28, 2000 By First Selectman Diane Farrell
Founding Sponsor: Westport Young Woman’s League
Sponsors:
Stew Leonard’s Water Safety Foundation
Newman’s Own/Fairfield County Foundation
Brooks Community Newspapers
Julia & Matthew Balk
Michael Alhanti
Jay & Evi Allen
American Stone, New Rochelle
Jill, Laszlo, Natalie & Anna Birinyi
Esta Burroughs
Maxx & Luke Crowley
Gault, Inc.
The Kamins Family
Arnie Kaye
Kiwanis of Westport
David & Phyllis Komansky
Steve, Terry & Madison Lewis
The O’Conner Family
Ann & Bill S(c)heff(l)er
Martha Stewart
Westport Millennium Committee
The Westport Woman’s Club
Kids’ Wall Facts
The Kids’ Wall is 6 feet high by 44 feet long, making it the largest piece of public art in Westport.
It cost $18,000.
It is composed of approximately 1500 lbs of tile and adhesive; 1000 lbs of “Wonder Board”
(onto which the tiles are glued); and 200 lbs of grout (the material between the tiles).
The tile panels are secured to a specially designed hurricane-proof “fence”
There are 64 panels, each measuring 18” x 33” wide. There are approximately 500 pieces of broken tile,
and other objects on each panel, adding up to about 32,000 individual pieces on the entire mural.
1,400 students from the 5th, 6th, 7th & 8th grades participated in the mural design and in the placement
of every object and every piece of tile in the mural. Each panel was completed in one 50-minute art class,
taking about 2 months to schedule each of the 64 classes. Look for special messages in
each panel spelled out with small alphabet beads by the students in each class.
The approval process for the Kids’ Wall spanned 2 years, including 3 Planning & Zoning Commission hearings;
2 Architectural Review Board hearings; a Parks and Recreation Department hearing; a review by the
Department of Public Works, Police Dept., and Conservation Commission; an RTM hearing;
an Arts Advisory Council meeting; and a Board of Selectman meeting.
An award-winning video of the making of the Kids' Wall is available from the Westport Public Library.
