Project Name: TNC on Cornelia Street
Project Type: Public Space, Nature space
Project Details: Mainland
Project Accolades: September Destination Guide Editors Pick ✨
In the News: Highlights from the Second Life Destination Guide, 9/22/23, Second Life Autumn 2022 Social Media Campaign
Project Description:
Anyone who knows me, knows that I’m a nature girl at heart and anyone who knows me also knows that Autumn is my season. After creating various different nature builds, I knew I wanted to create an Autumn build and the idea came to me to showcase Autumn on a city street in New York City, because nature can be found all around us! So this build started with a single street. Visitors landed at the teleport point where there was a small subway stop and info boards.
Off to the their right was a row of brownstones with a side walk. Across the street from the brownstones on the left were typical NYC street food vendors and further down there was a coffee cart. This side of this street had a wrought iron and brick fence around the perimeter of the build and the fence line was lined with autumn trees that hung over the street creating a canopy of Autumn color.
I continued to add Autumn trees on the side of the street with the brownstones – in black wrought iron planters to match the fence on the other side. I hung lights from the brownstones, across the street to the trees on the other side. Park benches dotted the street outside of the brownstones and as I added softly falling Autumn leaves, the name of the street and this build became evident to me – Cornelia Street, partly inspired by the Taylor Swift song, which seemed to capture the magical vibe of this build.
“Windows swung right open, autumn airJacket ’round my shoulders is yoursWe bless the rains on Cornelia StreetMemorize the creaks in the floor”
– Cornelia Street, by Taylor Swift
But it wasn’t just the Autumn sites and colors that helped create this scene. It was the sounds too. Sounds from Bunyi helped create the atmosphere with a city street soundscape and autumn birds like Blue Jays and Crows and a few Canada gooses. I also added wind sounds that seemed to capture the moment when Autumn leaves begin to rustle and break loose, cascading to the ground.
These site and sounds continued down Cornelia Street and led visitors to an archway that opened up to a park. Visitors could grab a hot cup of their favorite beverage from the coffee shack, sit by the fountain or play a game of Checkers while the Autumn leaves swirled and danced around them.
Autumn on Cornelia Street was a Destination Guide Editors Pick for September 2022. It was also the feature location in Second Life’s Autumn 2022 social media campaign. To this date it remains one of my all-time favorite builds. It also saw a winter version that was created later that year.
