Dark Star Park

Public sculpture park with concrete spheres that align with historic shadows on one day a year

An unusual small park in Rosslyn, designed by sculptor Nancy Holt, featuring five large concrete spheres and metal pipes rising from a grassy plaza. The spheres, each about two metres in diameter, sit among trees and along a retaining wall; the overall effect is dreamlike and slightly strange.

The park is a monument to a specific historical moment: the purchase of land in what is now Arlington by Thomas Lee in 1860. That historical connection is mostly invisible to visitors, who encounter it simply as a contemplative and visually striking public space. Free and always open. Worth a stop if you're in Rosslyn.

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A story
On 27 August at 9:32 am — the exact time and date in 1860 when Thomas Lee bought the land that would become Rosslyn — the shadows of the park's metal poles align precisely with the circular asphalt markings on the ground, mimicking the shadow of the spheres. The alignment lasts only a few minutes. Almost nobody knows to watch for it.