I chalked two hopscotch grids to provide an historical context for some inexplicably new and isolated stone arches.

This old school building at 4950 Cherry in Kansas City, Missouri, originally housed a private grade/high school, the Barstow School, beginning in 1924. The school moved in 1962, and the Midwest Research Institute moved into the building at 4950 Cherry. This is next to the university I attended, so I often walked past this.

In April 2005, this building was being readied for demolition by MRI. I took some pictures then, and I noticed a hopscotch grid permanently scratched out in the pavement behind the building's arches. That had to have been a remnant of the school's days in the building.

By May 2005, the building, its arches, and the walkway with the hopscotch grid were all gone.

Oddly enough, MRI then rebuilt a facsimile of the original building's arches behind the remaining ampitheater. I have no idea why they didn't just save the original ones. It is now called the Midwest Research Institute Memorial Garden, and the ampitheater is named after the Institute's president/CEO. There is no mention of the school.

I find these new arches strange, especially with no context of the reason for them. Originally I concocted elaborate plans to dig up old photos of this part of the building from when it was active as a school and somehow post them in this ampitheater with a short history.

But the more I thought about the task, the more it felt right to simply chalk hopscotch grids behind the new arches on the new concrete walkway. So I drew them this afternoon on a beautiful sunny day. They won't remain as long as the original one that I saw a couple of years ago, but I hope that they might remain long enough for someone to notice and wonder why. I felt that the spirit of the chalked hopscotch grids echoes the school's history simply enough.