Radiant Baby LbNA #37237

This letterbox is in honor of Kutztown native Keith Haring, and is found in Kutztown Park. Haring was an artist who rose to prominence in the East Village art scene in New York City in the 1980s. He first came to the public’s attention with his subway drawings, where he used the black paper advertising panels in the subway stations as his canvas.

Perhaps Haring’s most iconic image, one that would recur in his art throughout his career, was the “Radiant Baby,” an image of a crawling child radiating energy. Haring printed up small buttons imprinted with the image to hand out to passers-by who stopped by when he was drawing in the subway, and the baby became a sort of visual signature. The baby shows up repeatedly in his work, as a means of exploring a wide range of themes – childhood and innocence, death and destruction, community and self. Haring always desired that his art would be accessible to the public and not locked up in private collections, and we’d like to think that he would be pleased by this new incarnation of his signature image.

To complete this letterbox, you’ll need a compass and a pen or pencil. **Note that this clue was changed/updated on October 2, 2010, because one of the landmarks used in the original clue is no more.

1) Start in the parking lot off Main Street (the lot on the east end of Kutztown Park).
2) Several sidewalks lead toward the park. Find the one that is furthest from Main Street.
3) Follow this sidewalk until the first sidewalk intersection.
4) From the center of this intersection, walk due south for approximately 255 steps to find a figure balancing on a dog.
5) What year did that figure first balance on that dog? Write down the last two digits.
A = _______________
6) Standing directly in front of the rock with the plaque on it, heels touching the rock, find a bearing of 354 degrees. Walk approximately 110 steps (you will pass over a small road, then between a large bunch of evergreen shrubs and an oak tree)to a square metal utility access panel in the ground.
7) How many handles are on the access panel? Write it down. B=______________
8) Stand on the panel. Take a bearing of 260 degrees. You’ll see a set of benches. How many benches are there? Write it down. C = _________________________
9) Walk to that set of benches (about 44 paces). Stand on the far end of the bench that is furthest from the square metal panel. Take a bearing of: 194 + A + B + C = _______________.
10) Follow this bearing for approximately 95 steps, and you’ll find yourself by a fire hydrant. From the hydrant, take a bearing of 345 degrees. Follow this bearing for approximately 28 steps. You’ll find yourself by the corner of a building. I’m sure you’re tired after all that walking, so why don’t you take a rest on the second step of that four-step stairway that leads up into the building? Look nonchalant, and reach back into the gap between the stairs behind you. Reach underneath the stairs, and to your right. The Radiant Baby is now in your grasp.

***Note that this part of the park can be crowded, so please be discreet both in recovering and re-hiding the box.

While you're in town, be sure to check out our other local box, "Elbedritsche Hunt."