Contemplating the Cosmos at Caelum Moor

Some locals may call it ‘Little Stonehenge,’ but its official name is Caelum Moor, and it is one of Arlington’s most unique public art installations.

The artwork was created by Norm Hines (1938-2016), a noted sculptor and long-time Professor of Art at Pomona College in California. The five sculptures are constellation-inspired megaliths composed of 22 granite stones, weighing a total of 540 tons—that’s 1.08 million pounds!

Caelum Moor in Arlington, photographed July 2024

It took the efforts of a 16-truck convoy to move the Texas pink granite stones from a quarry near Marble Falls, about 50 miles northwest of Austin.

Caelum Moor arrives
Fort Worth Star-Telegram / Arlington Citizen-Journal – October 2, 1985
Newspapers.com

From 1986 to 1997, the environmental sculptures were located off I-20 and Matlock in South Arlington at the ‘Highlands in Arlington,’ a mixed-use business park with office and retail space. It was also the site of the Scottish Highland Games, a festival with culture, competition, and entertainment.

When the land was sold for redevelopment to make way for the ‘Arlington Highlands’ shopping center, which later opened in 2007, the artwork was donated to the city and moved to a water treatment plant for storage, where it remained dormant for over a decade. (Because what does one do with an unexpected gift of five megaliths?) Finally, the artwork was resurrected and rededicated on October 22, 2009, in its current location at Richard Greene Linear Park near the stadiums. Hines oversaw the recreation of the sculpture in its new location.

While comparisons to Stonehenge are inevitable, that wasn’t the intent. Hines said he created them as a way of blending nature and art, and being tucked away in tall trees near huge, contemporary structures of steel and glass is a deliberate juxtaposition.

The stones have attracted controversy over the years, with some believing they encouraged witchcraft rituals or beckoned the occult. Hines said these claims were ‘ridiculous,’ however, at least one group admitted to using the site for such purposes and said they would continue to do so if the sculptures were moved to a public park. Truthful or not, 20 local religious leaders felt strongly enough about the issue to sign a letter titled “Please, no witchcraft city park in Arlington,” that they submitted to the City Council and Arlington Star-Telegram newspaper in 1996.

Submitted for your approval (as Rod Serling would say):
Arlington Star-Telegram—Pagans admit to using Caelum Moor for rites (1996)

Today, occult concerns have subsided and Caelum Moor is an unexpected gem in Arlington’s Entertainment District, serving as a place for a leisure walk or cosmic contemplation. That is, if you can find a place to park and there’s not event traffic!

Did you know? While Caelum Moor is the collective name, each monument has a Celtic name: Sarsen Caer, Tolmen Barrow, De’Danaan, Tan Tara, and Morna Linn.