Leafy Stone Circle at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

The Pitch Best Place to Make Out, 2008:

A question certain to occur to any couple tonguing each other in the leafy, secluded bower on the southeast side of the Nelson-Atkins grounds: Did the landscapers design this spot for lovers? A rustic nook of wild-looking plant life and old-world witchery, this smallish, stone-paved circle feels something like an old fountain dried up and overgrown. It’s romantic, mostly private and — this is key for outdoor, late-night loving — surprisingly safe, with the Bloch Building looming just above like a level of Halo but better patrolled. Fortunately, the Nelson guards tend to leave smoochers alone. In fact, as the trees rustle and the lone floodlight deepens the shadows and you grope and pant on the short stone wall, the Nelson seems to offer encouragement. The sculpture at the center — Henry Moore’s “Reclining Connected Forms” — serves as quite an example.

Wed., Jan. 7, 2009