The sea beasts are coming - the sea beasts are coming- Giant sea turtles towering over beach bathers - lobsters crawling under your arms - water spraying everywhere. Wait! What is this ... some kind of late-night, Halloween horror flick? Well, don?EUR??,,????'???t pop the popcorn just yet. Actually, the preamble was just a description - slightly salted by the spirit of Halloween, after all the newest addition to Staten Island?EUR??,,????'???s gorgeous Midland Beach was dedicated in October of 2002. The 4,800 square-foot plaza was funded with $990,000 from former Borough President Guy V. Molinari. The Parks?EUR??,,????'??? design team - Jason Yu, Renata Sokolowski and Mike Browne - created several elements with whimsical sea themes, including benches with lobster armrests, decorative paintings, and a wave-patterned shade structure with signs depicting sea horses, sea stars and other sea beast. The Parks Department also planted self-sustaining and drought tolerant wind rose and blue-stem grass, which provide habitat for coastal bird. The designers also made certain to incorporate beautifully the beach?EUR??,,????'???s existing black pine trees into the plans. The centerpiece of the plaza is a giant bronze loggerhead sea turtle supported by a bronze arch column. The column is decorated with carvings representing the indigenous sea life in Staten Island?EUR??,,????'???s waters, including striped bass, fluke, flounder, lobsters, crabs, sea stars, and mud snails. Midland Beach Entry Plaza The Midland Beach entrance, located at the FDR Boardwalk in Staten Island, had been a popular resort for a long time. In the 1930s, the Works Progress Administration built the two-and-a-half-mile boardwalk for people to enjoy the ocean. Over the years, however, the area became dilapidated. According to Staten Island Borough President James Molinaro, Midland Beach was plagued with prostitutes, vandals and drug addicts. The recent renovations are part of an ongoing effort to revitalize Staten Island?EUR??,,????'???s East Shore beaches, including the Midland entrance. ?EUR??,,????'??This is a beautiful place,?EUR??,,????'?? said Molinaro at the site?EUR??,,????'???s dedication. ?EUR??,,????'??There?EUR??,,????'???s lots of history here.?EUR??,,????'?? The plaza experienced a dramatic transformation - from worn and rundown - to warm, friendly and inviting, with a joyful nautical theme. The intent of the new design was to provide a destination along the beach promenade. The lengthy boardwalk was considered to be ?EUR??,,????'??nowhere land?EUR??,,????'?? according to one of the project?EUR??,,????'???s design team members, Michael Browne. The decorative plaza is approximately 5,000 square-feet. The whirlpool design of the concrete makes an effort to recreate the flow of the ocean. The whirlpool pattern is colored green and yellow with crystal beads embedded into the concrete to provide a sparkle similar to the shimmering light of the sun reflecting off of the water. The whirlpool is further enhanced by a blue and green trellis design. The surrounding landscape further develops and mimics the concrete pattern with a dunescape planted with windrows to depict the tide marks found between high and low tide (the littoral zone). A traditional hex block provides a subtle transition back to the promenade. The centerpiece in the plaza, of this award-winning urban design project, is a 10-foot tall, 3,500-pound statue - a bronze, seafaring loggerhead turtle, with a swirl of seaweed and sea creature trailing behind. Browne hopes the oversized statue of the indigenous loggerhead will increase awareness about the turtle - an endangered species, approaching extinction. ?EUR??,,????'??I want to educate the public a little bit,?EUR??,,????'?? stated Browne, ?EUR??,,????'??and I wanted a different level of experience so I brought in other elements to add to the piece making it a microcosm of sea life here.?EUR??,,????'?? The nautical and environmentally conscious design includes light-blue, shade creating structures shaped like waves, and benches with lobster armrests. Browne used an urn from Versailles, France as part of the inspiration designing the bench detail. But there are more surprises! Beneath the turtle is an underground set of sprinklers that deliver a low-flow of water. The spray is recycled for irrigation by way of an ionization purification process. Other elements include approximately 17,000 plants distributed over the landscape, and a boulder with Midland Beach and a silhouette of a sea turtle that celebrate the entrance from the street. ?EUR??,,????'??The Midland Beach project was a special order for us at Trystan Site Furnishings,?EUR??,,????'?? revealed owner Peter Graham. ?EUR??,,????'??From the Florida benches with the custom lobsters incorporated into the arms to the sea turtle fence posts and sculpture.?EUR??,,????'?? Graham added, ?EUR??,,????'??Working four hundred miles away from a client on a custom sculpture can be intimidating. The way we were able to overcome this limitation was by constantly updating the designers with photos of the fiberglass pattern, as it was being made. In this way we were able to correct areas where we strayed from the original design concept sooner rather than later. It took many modifications to the arches alone to create the double helix effect desired.?EUR??,,????'?? ?EUR??,,????'??These changes were all made prior to adding any of the detail,?EUR??,,????'?? Graham continued. ?EUR??,,????'??When the pattern was nearing completion Mike [Browne] wanted a closer look, so he made an inspection visit, and we put him to work. We had him building up areas carving sea lettuce, detailing crustaceans; in other words a good time was had by all. After all the sea life detail was complete, the pattern had to be cut into sections for casting.?EUR??,,????'?? Graham concluded by saying, ?EUR??,,????'??With all of the turns and changes in direction, we had to cut the pattern into one hundred and forty pieces. When all of these pieces were cast we had to assemble our bronze jigsaw puzzle. After assembly the welds had to be smoothed and detail added over the welds. We were extremely happy with our end results; even we couldn?EUR??,,????'???t tell where the welds originally were. We are very proud to be a part of Midland Beach.?EUR??,,????'??