Which stop on Pinecrest's public art trail should come last? The Village answered that this fall. Its September 2026 issue of the Pinecrest Sun prints a self-guided route that starts at a traffic circle on SW 72nd Avenue and finishes in a small pocket park on Old Cutler Road, at the newest piece in the collection.
The guide doesn't mention that the clock decides when each piece is worth seeing. Some stops sit behind a gate that closes at five. Two have lighting meant for night. Lay out the seven works by hours instead of by address and you get two walks, one in daylight and one after sunset, and the new sculpture belongs at the end of the second.
What went in at Old Cutler Road and SW 120th Street
The new work is Traversal by sculptor Michael Szabo. It's a group of 29 columns made from bronze, corten steel and textured glass, set in a neighborhood pocket park at Old Cutler Road and SW 120th Street. The Village Council approved the project in 2024, and South Dade Spotlight reported in its October 2026 issue that the Council had unveiled it that month and dedicated the space to Village residents. It was installed at the end of summer.
The Village describes the columns as "an immersive gateway that changes with every step," with light filtering through as you move. That's the daytime view. On his studio's current-projects page, Szabo adds that by day the polished surfaces pick up the plants and sky around them, and "after dark, integrated lighting gives the sculpture a distinctly different presence."
A piece with its own lighting rewards a second visit after dark, and on fall evenings that second visit is easy to fit in after dinner.
The five o'clock line at Pinecrest Gardens
Two of the trail's seven works are inside Pinecrest Gardens at 11000 Red Road, which keeps standard hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Hours can shift on festival, special event and holiday dates. They're the only stops that charge admission. Everything else on the trail is free to visit.
- Xavier Cortada, Pinecrest Mangrove Forest: Plan(t) for the Future. This mural runs nearly 200 feet and was created during Art Basel 2019 as part of Cortada's effort to get residents planting mangroves ahead of sea-level rise. The Gardens planted its Mangrove Forest in the Lower Gardens along with the mural, so the art and the planting it calls for are in the same spot.
- Alice Pittaluga, La Danse. These free-flowing figures by the Brazilian artist are an homage to Matisse's 1910 painting. They stand in the Hammock Pavilion area. Her husband, the Brazilian diplomat Carlos Bueno, donated the piece to the Gardens.
Admission is $8 for ages 2 to 64 and $5 for 65 and older, and children under 2 get in free. Special-event tickets are sold separately. Active military get in free all year, and Miami-Dade residents 62 and older with a Golden Ticket get one free admission Monday through Thursday. The Gardens notes that prices and hours can change, so check the page before you go.
Since the Gardens closes earliest, it has to come first. The Village guide puts the Gardens fifth of six stops. Start there instead and the rest of the day falls into place.
The middle of the afternoon, along Pinecrest Parkway and Killian Drive
The next three stops are outdoors and free, and none of them depends on the light. That makes them the flexible stretch of the route.
Romero Britto's Flower Pot stands outside the Pinecrest Community Center and Library. It's one of only 48 Flower Pot sculptures Britto made worldwide, and the Village calls it a favorite spot for family photos. The coffee stop is inside the same building. Salty Sisters Café & Bakery, at 5855 Killian Drive, serves breakfast and lunch, specialty coffee and matcha, baked goods and soft-serve. It's open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday. On a Saturday, come here before the Gardens or skip the café.
Reynaldo Glez's Pinecrest20 is the mural the Cuban-born artist painted for the Village's 20th anniversary, at the Pinecrest Municipal Center, 12645 Pinecrest Parkway.
Alex Yanes' Our Colores is a short way down the parkway at Suniland Park, 12855 Pinecrest Parkway. The Miami Marlins commissioned it through their #OurColores initiative, and its baseball theme suits the Village's baseball park.
After dark, the two steel pieces take over
The trail's last two stops are the ones whose lighting matters most, and they're the only two the Village or the artist describe as changing at night.
Santiago Medina's PEACE stands 14 feet tall in the traffic circle at SW 72nd Avenue and 98th Street. The Village's art trail guide says the stainless steel reflects sunlight by day and "glows beneath colorful lighting after dark." It was first exhibited at Pinecrest Gardens before joining the Village's permanent collection. The official guide sends visitors here first so they can watch the steel change through the day. Saving it for dusk shows the same change from the other end.
Then comes Traversal, as the Village intended, now seen with the integrated lighting Szabo describes. The guide calls this last stop the place "where art and nature come together in a peaceful pocket park."
| Stop | Location | Best window |
|---|---|---|
| Pinecrest Mangrove Forest mural, Xavier Cortada | Pinecrest Gardens, Lower Gardens | Before 5 p.m., admission |
| La Danse, Alice Pittaluga | Pinecrest Gardens, Hammock Pavilion area | Before 5 p.m., admission |
| Flower Pot, Romero Britto | Pinecrest Community Center, 5855 Killian Drive | Afternoon, with Salty Sisters |
| Pinecrest20, Reynaldo Glez | Municipal Center, 12645 Pinecrest Parkway | Any daylight hour |
| Our Colores, Alex Yanes | Suniland Park, 12855 Pinecrest Parkway | Any daylight hour |
| PEACE, Santiago Medina | SW 72nd Avenue and 98th Street traffic circle | Dusk, colored lighting |
| Traversal, Michael Szabo | Old Cutler Road and SW 120th Street | After dark, integrated lighting |
In practice, the route works best as a drive with short stops on foot. Planned by hours, it runs like this:
- Pinecrest Gardens, early enough to see both pieces well before closing.
- Salty Sisters and Flower Pot at the Community Center.
- The two murals on Pinecrest Parkway.
- PEACE as the light fades.
- Traversal after dark.
Why the last stop sits on Old Cutler
The Village picked a meaningful corner for Traversal, calling it "one of Pinecrest's historic crossroads." The road itself is old. A 2017 history in Community Newspapers traces it to a trail along the coastal ridge. Settlers cut a path from Cutler toward Coconut Grove in 1883, it became a public road in 1895, and it later went by Ingraham Highway before taking the name Old Cutler Road. The road's state historic highway designation, effective in 1974, names its Coral Gables and Coconut Grove sections in the Florida Department of Transportation's roster. The Pinecrest stretch has a history of its own regardless, running back more than 140 years.
South Dade Spotlight reports that the Village links the project to its strategic plan goals of keeping Pinecrest's residential character and preserving its streetscapes. That fits the site. Rather than a plaza or a commercial frontage, the new landmark went into a small park on a road that predates the Village by about a century.
Pairing the trail with the season's evenings
The art trail lines up with the Gardens' own evening calendar this season. You can see the Gardens pieces in the afternoon and come back for a show.
- Saturday, November 7. Allyson Briggs and The Dan Gabel Big Band play the Banyan Bowl as part of the 2026–27 jazz season. Parking is free and concessions open before the concert.
- Sunday, November 8. Orchestra Miami performs a 20th-anniversary concert that includes Beethoven's Triple Concerto, from 6 to 8 p.m.
- December 4 onward. Nights of Lights returns on select nights from 6:30 to 10 p.m., with lights, seasonal entertainment, family activities, vendors and food. The Gardens page lists dates through December 27, while the Village's September newsletter gave December 23, so check the Gardens calendar before you go.
- Saturday, December 12. Allan Harris brings his Nat King Cole Christmas program to the Banyan Bowl.
On a concert night, see the Gardens pieces in the afternoon and leave the after-dark stops for the drive home: PEACE in its traffic circle first, then the lit columns of Traversal on Old Cutler Road.
We keep track of Pinecrest's public spaces as closely as its streets of homes. If a change in the Village has you thinking about your own home's place in it, Carole Smith Team would be glad to talk it through. Request a private consultation.