'Woodpecker Column' – Toronto, Ontario - Atlas Obscura

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'Woodpecker Column'

The giant birds honor two native North American species. 

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Standing tall in the shadow of the CN Tower, Toronto’s extremely popular tourist attraction, is a rather overlooked piece of art. Take a good look at “Woodpecker Column,” and you’ll spot two charming birds catching your eye with their bright colors, even when the tower is shrouded in fog.

The 98-foot-tall (30 meters) black steel column was created by Fastwürms, a Canadian artist collective, and installed in 1997. The piece is freckled with round holes so it resembles a tree trunk its two avian residents have routinely hammered.

The birds are over 6.5 feet (two meters) tall. One is a yellow-bellied sapsucker, the other a pileated woodpecker. Both species are native to Canada and the United States.

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December 6, 2019

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