Green Man Park

Carved by David Hummel, a German Stonecutter who founded Hummel Industries, this nine-foot tall, hand-carved limestone face cast his gaze toward Peeble’s Corner in the middle of the Walnut Hills business district for 100 years. This park reunited the Green Man with the Walnut Hills community on the block he presided over for a century. He exemplifies the community’s mission of inspiration, rebirth and regeneration while maintaining the cultural diversity that is a significant part of their history. The signage designed for the park embodied the symbol of the Green Man by embracing conservation and the repurposing of materials. Rusted cast iron light poles were selected from the city’s overgrown storage yard and were reborn as gateways to the park. Because park access is primarily pedestrian-focused, the signs were designed to be explored via the use of rotational symmetry. Visitors are encouraged to walk around the signs rather than view them from a single side.

Green Man Park was a community-driven project that reclaimed a vacant lot to celebrate the neighborhood's commitment to sustainability.
Lisa K. Bambach © 2017

The Walnut Hills community hosted a celebratory ribbon cutting to officially open Green Man Park to the public.
Lisa K. Bambach © 2017

Volunteers, donors, and politicians pivotal in the creation of Green Man Park processed in to welcome community members to the new park.
Lisa K. Bambach © 2017

The City of Cincinnati provided cast iron poles from its storage yard to be refurbished as signage elements for Green Man Park.
Lisa K. Bambach © 2017

Close-up of the Green Man Park gateway.
Lisa K. Bambach © 2017

The construction of Green Man Park was truly a community collaboration. Volunteers laid pavers, University of Cincinnati students designed native landscaping, and the City of Cincinnati designed the park layout, signage, and donated materials.
Lisa K. Bambach © 2017

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