by Monica Chamness
Staff Writer
Throughout downtown there are many testaments to the culture and traditions of the city. Monuments, statues and sculptures grace the Northbank, Southbank, Riverside and Springfield. Here is a look at some of pieces and what they represent.
The Fire Monument
New to the Northbank Riverwalk is the Fire Monument. Appearing to lean like the Tower of Pisa, it commemorates the Great Fire of 1901. At the urging of Mayor John Delaney, the project was funded by City Council. The sculpture is a 40-foot high silver spike with jagged etchings at the base. At night, the bottom of the structure is illuminated to create the image of burning embers.
“By every major historian, the Great Fire is considered to be a pivotal point in the city’s history,” said Emily Lisska of the Jacksonville Historical Society. “That single incident stands out as the most significant event in our 186 years. The city burnt to the ground in eight hours. The bulk of the city, especially where commerce took place, was gone. This serves to mark the centennial of the fire, not the fire per se, so it is a modern piece instead of a period piece.”
Bruce White from Illinois was the artist. It took him a year to plan the design and another year to build the sculpture. The plan is to hold a dedication next spring.
Andrew Jackson statue
Most everyone who has been downtown has seen the statue of the man riding a horse in front of the Landing. Weighing 2,800 pounds, the bronze sculpture came about through the efforts of former U.S. representative Charles Bennett. The statue is Andrew Jackson, the city’s namesake, and is a copy of the one in Washington, D.C., which was designed by artist Clarke Mills in 1853.
“Both statues portray him [Jackson] reviewing the troops at the Battle of New Orleans in 1815,” said Joel McEachin of the Jacksonville Historic Preservation Commission. “Bennett raised $100,000 for the project.”
The statue, which was unveiled in June 1987, stands 12 feet wide and five feet high. The base is concrete covered with marble.
Civil War statute
The bronze and marble sculpture in Hemming Plaza was dedicated June 16, 1898 during the Reunion of United Confederated Veterans to commemorate Confederate veterans of the Civil War. The statue of the soldier was paid for by Charles Hemming, a Confederate veteran and the plaza’s namesake. It was designed by artist George Mitchell of Chicago.
“After the war, Hemming moved to the Southwest and became quite successful in business,” said Joel McEachin. “He came back to Jacksonville and sponsored the monument in the park. It is one of the few standing structures that survived the 1901 fire.”
Release
Inside the atrium of Enterprise Center, home of the Omni Hotel and First Union Bank, is a towering sculpture, Release (right). The giant C-shaped sculpture is over 30 feet high, 14 feet wide and four and a half feet deep. Creator Paul Hanson of the Genesis Group defines the piece to mean “to be free from confinement, let go; a reflection of liberation and freedom.”
“The purpose of Genesis was to design and produce monumental sculptures on commission for large public areas throughout the United States,” said Nancy Pedrick, project financial coordinator for Trammell Crow Company, the building’s property manager.
The design’s bronze casting weighs 2,500 pounds with the internal steel armature adding another 1,500 to 2,000 pounds. It was commissioned by Saison Associates, the owners of the building.
The piece utilized two different finishes. To yield a bluish color, a cupric nitrate/ammonia mix was applied to the textured areas of the piece. The top side of the art work was coated with an incralac spray to prevent oxidation.
Bloch Cancer Survivors Park
On the northern edge of downtown is the Bloch Cancer Survivors Park on the Florida Community College at Jacksonville campus off State Street. Dedicated in April 2000, the mini-park is home to replicas of five local bridges: the Acosta, Mathews, Dames Point, Main Street and Hart. Richard Bloch, co-founder of H&R Block, funded the project through his organization, R.A. Bloch Cancer Foundation. Since Bloch’s diagnosis of lung cancer in 1978, he has been committed to erecting parks for cancer survivors throughout the country to offer them hope. Peter Rumpel of CRG Architects designed the models, which are actually footbridges over a water garden. Powell Metal Products constructed the bridges.
Cancer. . . there’s hope is a sculpture depicting eight life-size figures in various stages of the life cycle wandering through a maze in the park. It symbolizes the struggle of individuals against terminal illnesses. The sculpture was created by Mexican artist Victor Salmones, who died of cancer in 1990. Also in the park are plaques engraved with inspirational messages for cancer victims and medicinal plants used in the treatment of cancer. Perpetual maintenance of the park was also provided for by the Bloch Foundation.
Haskell Building
Known for his love of abstract art, it is no surprise that visitors to Preston Haskell’s office on Riverside Avenue, are greeted by a fountain/sculpture. Commissioned in 1986, the untitled piece is meant to blend with the building’s architectural design. Stainless steel, the curvy piece was created by artist Rafe Affleck, who describes the art as “a fusion of sight, sound and motion where water and sculpture are united.”
The force controlling the water’s direction is called laminer flow., which allows the water flowing from the underside of the two curved forms to retain its directional curve and the flat shape of the sculpture.