Welcome to the Ruins Project
The Ruins is for the heartbroken children of coal.
And for everyone else willing to slow down long enough to hear what this place remembers.
The Ruins Project is an eleven-year collaborative mosaic art installation built into the standing ruins of Banning No. 2 — a once abandoned coal mine in Whitsett, Fayette County, Pennsylvania. Over 500 artists from around the world have contributed to the site. Located along the Great Allegheny Passage, it is one of the only places in Appalachia where the coal story is told not in a museum case, but in the walls themselves.
The Wild Turkey by Helga Maribel Sanchez
The William Henry Mills Portrait by Joy Parker
The Anonymous Miner by Margy Cottingham
“I wanted to thank you for an incredible tour today. I had no idea what to expect, but we all were blown away. ... Thank you for your inspiration to continue to keep the past alive. I have other friends who will also love to come. Thank you.”
Guided tours run mid-April through Thanksgiving. Tours are 90 minutes of walking and standing outdoors — the geology, the history, the art, and the coal story told in the walls around you. $30 per person. Private tours available for groups.
Learn about The You Are Here Project
The Ruins is not a Casual Stop.
The Ruins is for people who can think in layers. Not the black and white ease of a scrolling feed, but the shades of amber and russet locked inside a chunk of Pennsylvania sandstone. It's for travelers willing to send their imaginations down into the belly of time.
The cost of visiting here is making a plan and following our few simple rules. Our tour calendar is intentionally small. Just because you find yourself passing by does not translate into entrance. That is the reality of The Ruins — and it's also the point.
In a world where everything is accessible all the time, The Ruins is a cloistered exception. Your entrance has a cost. It's not just the tour fee. It's your commitment.
View a short video introduction of The Ruins Project.
“[Touring the Ruins was] A profound and heartfelt experience connecting the present to the work of our forebears. Rachel does an amazing job of interpreting her artistic vision of creating a threshold for moving across time…”
The Ruins Project in the Press
Highland Outdoors - Beautiful Ruins by Pam Kasey | March 31, 2026 — highland-outdoors.com/beautiful-ruins
Morgantown Magazine - Making Beauty out of Ruins by Pam Kasey | September 4, 2024 — morgantownmag.com
PBS / WQED - Ruins Project (documentary) | July 31, 2024 — pbs.org/video/ruins-project-pkcrve
Pittsburgh Quarterly - The Ruins by Ben Moyer | Fall 2023
Rivers of Steel - The Wandering Wall at The Ruins Project | December 15, 2023 — riversofsteel.com
Around the World "L" - An Old Coal Mine Decorated in MOSAICS?! by Lillie Marshall | January 8, 2023 — aroundtheworldl.com
TribLive - Western Pennsylvania residents look to preserve region's mining history by Patrick Varine | February 18, 2022
The Gap Trail Website - Profile: Rachel Sager by Bryan Perry | September 29, 2021 — gaptrail.org
Go Laurel Highlands - Sager Mosaics and the Ruins Project by Louise Henry | March 9, 2021 — golaurelhighlands.com
Go Laurel Highlands - Podcast featuring the Ruins Project | January 2021
Observer-Reporter - The Ruins Project pays artistic tribute to coal-mining culture | July 23, 2019 — observer-reporter.com
WESA 90.5 FM - Artist Transforms Abandoned Coal Plant Through Mosaic | June 6, 2018 — wesa.fm
Observer-Reporter - 'Wild West' Mosaic artist working on 'ruins' project in former mine | September 21, 2017 — observer-reporter.com
Now at The Ruins
The Ruins is never finished. That is the point.
Eleven years in, there are still walls waiting. Still stories untold. Still artists who haven't found their way here yet. What you see on your tour today will be different from what the next visitor sees — and different again from what stands here a year from now. A living museum. A cathedral still under construction.
This is a glimpse of what is happening right now.
The First Folly in progress.
A folly is a structure built for no practical reason whatsoever. That is precisely the point.
Kevin and Byron , the retired contractors who built the Cathedral Window frame, are back. This time they're building something on top of a hundred-year-old concrete bridge pillar at the edge of the property. A small brick structure. It will not keep anyone dry. It will not increase production. It will not cook a pizza.
It is being built because beauty is a reason.
The bricks are Milliken — made in Wilkinsburg, paved Pittsburgh's streets, held up its rowhouses. Someone dumped a pile of them near The Wandering Wall years ago. Nobody remembers who. They were waiting for their folly.
Watch Kevin and Byron lay the first bricks.
“I sincerely believe your Ruins Project is incredibly special. I am clearly not alone in that thought. It’s the beautiful land, the original rather sad but heroic story, it’s recent fresh beginning retold in an old world art form done new. Such an overlay of so many important things/metaphors. Your vision and talent and ability to connect with people and words and tesserae- well…. it just speaks to our hearts. ”
Parking
There is ample parking at Sager Mosaics for up to six vehicles on both sides of River Road. Please park next to the woodshed or in front of the garage. The busy Great Allegheny Passage bike trail crosses River Road just past the Studio. Do not park on the bike trail or the ramp to The Ruins. Additional parking is available across the trail in a gravel lot near the river lot belonging to a neighbor. Large bike tour support vehicles can park in the gravel lot.
Accessibility
Sager Mosaics Studio is accessible from the parking area via a ramp or 6 steps. There are no accessible restrooms on site. The tour of The Ruins Project takes about an hour and 15 minutes of walking and standing outdoors, primarily in shade. Chairs are placed along the route for resting. The pathways are dirt and gravel with uneven surfaces, and some short stretches of steep grades. The most challenging part of the tour is a set of 5 steep rough steps made of railroad ties. There is a railing on one side of the steps, and it is possible to adjust the route to avoid the steps if necessary. Many guests who use walkers or canes have been able to enjoy the tour. We do our best to adapt the pace of the tour to accommodate all participants, and we can make adjustments as needed. Please let us know about your accessibility needs.
Please wear sturdy, closed-toe walking shoes.
Collaboration and Gratitude
While it is conceived, led, and curated by Rachel Sager, The Ruins Project includes the work of more than 400 artists from 17 countries and counting. Artists generously contribute their creativity, time, materials, and care to help preserve and share the stories of the people who come from coal. The Ruins Project is also indebted to the miners and their families, the community of Whitsett, and the many visitors and volunteers who share their stories, skills, and resources.
The following is an incomplete list of the artists who have contributed work to The Ruins Project. If you are a Ruins Artist we would be grateful if you would complete the Ruins Artist Registry form so we can build an accurate archive of artists and works.
Addie Best
Adelaida Rosh
Adriana Mufarrege
Aida Valencia
Alejandra Martin
Alissa Blumenthal
Alex McHallam
Alix Paul
Allan Punton
Amy Gilman
Amy Gartley
Amy Marks
Amy Wassum
Anabella Wewer
Andrea Ketterling
Angèle Blasutti
Angel Cacciola
Ann Della-Rose Hunter
Ann Thompson
Anne Kelly-Contini
Anne Walker
Aya Kinoshita
Barbara Bussler
Barbara Cortese
Barb Goff
Barbara Schwartzbach
Barbara Sheinberg
Beth Klingher
Betsy Rodman
Beverly DeMotte
Beth Goulet
Betsy Rodman
Beverly Niccolai
Blair Barthels
Bonnie Fitzgerald
Bonnie Kinnaird
Bonnie Lankford
Brenda Gratton
Caitlin Hepworth
Candace Jackman
Carol Erwin
Cara Noland
Carol Hemsley
Carol Mastrioni
Carol Rydel
Carol Stirton-Broad
Carol Tinkleman
Carolina Kawall
Cassie Doyon
Cecilia Kremer
Celeste Woods
Cheryl Cohen
Christine Hume
Christopher Pickslay
Christy Dunkle
Cindy Robin
Cindy Swanson
Claire Himsworth
Colleen Bass
Corinna Barrell
Corrine McKeown
Cynthia Stanton
Dawn Mendelson
Deb Engelbaugh
Deb Simmonds
Debora Aldo
Debra D'Souza
Diane Cooper Cabe
Dianne Bigelow
Dianne Sonnenberg
Dimitra Colomvakou
Donna Mitchelson
Donna Ritchie
Donna Van Hooser
Doreen Guarano
Edna Segev
Eileen Palmer
Elayne Aion
Elizabeth Laing
Ellen Dinerman
Elsa Antebi
Elsje Derammelaere
Emily Bhargava
Erika Johnson
Erin Pankratz
Fiona Siseman
Gila Rayberg
Glenda Chamberlain
Harriet Rubenstein
Helen Miles
Helen Nock
Helene Rosenfeldt
Helga Maribel Sanchez
Jacqueline Misset
Jaime Zwicker
James & Rosalind Blair
James Schlichting
Jan Barker
Jan Dongilli
Jan Timreck
Jane Chaskey
Jane Snedeker
Janis Nunez
Jean Ann Dabb
Jeanne Hall
Jeannine Rudolph
Jeffrey Onjin Plant
Jennifer Case
Jennifer Ruttman
Jennifer Swank
Jill Chisnell
Jim Auzins
Jo Braun
Joan Greenberg
Joan LaMoure
Joanna Liss
Joanne Daschel
Jody Best
John Angellone
Joy Parker
Judy Styles
Julia Rose
Julie Christman
Julie Sperling
Karen Crisman
Karen K. Dimit
Karen Sasine
Karen Shablick
Karin Vander Schaaf
Karma Duff
Kathleen Doody
Kathleen Formica
Kathleen Maisel Stinebaugh
Kathy Thaden
Kathy Trexel Reed
Kelly Knickerbocker
Kenneth Blaine
Kim Alexander
Kim Emerson
Kim Freels
Kim Porter
Kim Wozniak
Laura Epstein
Laura Lyn Stern
Laura Paull
Lauren Leighton
Lauren Zingaro
Laurie Agard
Laurie Frazer
Lee-Ann Taylor
Lee Berman
Lenni Gilbert
Lenore Harris
Leslie Darke
Libby Hintz
Linda Biggers
Linda Chamberlain
Linda Cundiff
Linda Rancourt
Linda Rosenbloom
Lindi Criswell
Lindsey Packingham
Lisa Myers
Lisbeth Bennett
Lois Giovachinni
Lori Manfra
Louise Banks
Louise Bishop
Lucinda Weller
Luz Mack
Lynda Donovan
Lynda Knott
Lynn Adamo
Lynn Donihe
Mara Schiffman
Margaret Eastham
Margaret Shaw
Margie Cottingham
Marguerite Trail
Maria Jose Iribarne
Marian Shapiro
Marian Swinker
Mariana Lloyd
Marie Hirsch
Marjolaine Alain
Marlies Wandres
Mary Berk Gidzinski
Mary Driver
Mary Kim Lavery
Mary Len Brown
Mary Lou Romano Harrell
Mary Trahanovsky
Maryellen DiSilvio
Maureen Callan
Meghan Walsh
Michaela Borghese
Michele Simkoff
Michelle Fuhrman
Mireille Swinnen
Misha Moore
Nancy Holt
Nikki Jennings
Nilgun Eke Kurdi
Pam Carlson
Pamela LePre
Pamela Stratton
Patrice Lehocky
Patritzia Brasch
Patricia Darke Thomas
Peggy Schuning
Polly Loy
Prerana Phadnis
Rachel Davies
Rachel Sager
Renee Bourg-Giarusso
Roberta Tobey Gertz
Robin Brownfield
Robin Sue Moyher
Robin Zweig
Robyn Miller
Rona Pietrzak
Roslyn Clarke
Sage Krumbolz
Sara Jane Melville
Sarah Barter
Sarah Joyce-McCarron
Sarah Pryke
Sasha Harvey McKnight
Sharon Bachner
Shea Settimi
Sheri Fox
Sherri Grasmuck
Sophie Drouin
Spring Alene Dimmerling
Stacey Heller
Stannye Baringer
Stasha Harvey McKnight
Stephanie Cosenza
Stevo Sadvary
Su Bailey
Sue Leitch
Sue Sandmeyer
Susan Allen
Susan F. Starr
Susan Lynch
Susan Ribnick
Suska Matsik
Suzanne Coverett Earls
Suzanne Daub
Suzanne Owayda
Sewailu
Tami Macala
Tani Bates
Teresita Doebley
Terry Clarbour
Tina Ellis
Tina Santoni
Tracy Hodson
Ursula Haber
Veronica Kairos
Victoria Papazian
Wasentha Young
Wendy Casperson
Wendy Gray Raven
Ylenia Roma
The Austin Mosaic Guild
The Mosaic Society of Philadelphia
The New England Mosaic Society