River Soundings is a 60'-tall sculpture in the central public space of Philadelphia's Rivermark development located on the Delaware River. Composed of a steel frame strung with embellished stainless steel cables, the artwork is an actual scale illustration of the depth of the river adjacent to the site, conceptually conveying the meaning of "marking the river " as sounding its depths with historic lead lines. At the base of the sculpture etched elements provide educational context about navigating the river, with additional references to the City of Philadelphia’s notion of Brotherly Love. Nighttime lighting activates the piece in dynamic color.

Surrounding the larger sculpture are smaller pipes alluding to structural piles found at maritime piers. These “pile pipes” are etched with imagery also related to river navigation. On the sides of the three tallest pipes are representations of a traditional lead line as well as lunar and tidal cycles affecting the river’s changing depth. The tops of the six shorter pipes illustrate: a map approximating high-tide depths of the portion of Delaware River referenced in the sculpture cables; a lens found in the Harbor Refuge Lighthouse at the mouth of the river; a compass pointing to magnetic north; a ship’s clock; a steering wheel of the USS Cruiser Olympia; and a star knot with a visual motif of interlocking hands that embodies maritime fiber and Philadelphia’s civic notion of Brotherly Love.