Soundwalk

As you stroll along the sidewalk in Curtis Street in Denver, you might notice something unusual between 15th and 16th Street. One moment, you might hear the gentle trickle of water as if a hidden stream flows beneath the city. The next, you could be startled by the rumble of thunder or the clucking of chickens. That’s because, hidden underneath the sidewalk’s six stainless steel grates, are speakers piping in an eclectic mix of pre-recorded sounds.

The installation was created in 1992 by the late artist Jim Green, who, though originally trained in drawing and sculpture, took to sound as his preferred medium. He is said to have used a “tape recorder the way a photographer uses a camera.”