The new Central Station, located at the southeast corner of Bob Billings Pkwy and Crestline Dr., is a transit hub with style thanks to the connections-themed artwork from Tyler Kimball.

Our Lawrence Transit team partnered with Monarch Glass Studio to produce three artworks for Central Station, which opened to the public at the start of 2024. As part of the City’s public art program, Lawrence Transit staff worked with the Lawrence Cultural Arts Commission to form an artist selection committee that ultimately selected Tyler Kimball of Monarch Glass Studio for the public art project.

Collaborating with city staff, project architects, and community members, Kimball developed a three-part concept for Central Station. His colorfully vibrant glass artworks were installed in October 2023 during the construction phase, in preparation for the station’s opening in 2024.

“Tyler’s art concept was meaningful to transit riders, which was an important factor in choosing him for this work,” said Adam Weigel, Transit and Parking Manager, City of Lawrence. “Tyler proposed a concept with three different pieces, and we liked that the artwork was impactful both during the day and at night.”

Kimball’s artwork for this project, Making Connections, is focused not just on the journey itself but on the people you meet and the community that forms throughout the experience.

“When you get in a car and just drive from one place to another, you’re not really getting anything out of that,” said Tyler Kimball, Monarch Glass Studio. “When you’re somewhere with your community and moving together, there’s a lot more that comes from it.”

The three art pieces Kimball installed at Central Station share the same concept. There’s a colorful line that goes to a center point or circle, which is representative of a journey somewhere. The concept pieces resembling beacons are in different locations throughout the Central Station campus so they can light the way to different points that riders and community members may need to access.

The colors of the project are inspired by the Lawrence community and its two universities – red and blue for the University of Kansas and gold and purple for Haskell Indian Nations University.

“The community feedback makes this a community piece – something that reflects all of Lawrence,” said Kimball. “And the stained glass has more colors – green, pink, amber – because it’s the whole community that is represented by it.”

So far, Lawrence Transit riders and community members have been enjoying the art pieces and the liveliness they bring to Central Station – the type of place that is typically visited more for its function than its form. With the art, the community has something more that they can connect with while on their journey.