Hamilton, Ohio, City of Sculpture

Click here for Sculpture Descriptions

		CLICK PHOTOS FOR MORE INFORMATION



		CLICK PHOTOS FOR MORE INFORMATION



		CLICK PHOTOS FOR MORE INFORMATION



Click on thumbnails below to see large photos.

Victory, the Jewel
of the Soul

Butler County Soldiers, Sailors & Pioneers Monument
*This photo provided by Brown Studios.

"Victory, the Jewel of the Soul" aka Billy Yank, is a 17-ft. 3500-lb. Civil War soldier designed and built by Rudolph F. Thiem who learned sculpture making in Germany before migrating to Hamilton. Thiem’s work at the Estate Stove Co. in Hamilton included the art that adorned Estate stoves. Billy Yank was installed in 1906 onto the Soldiers, Sailors and Pioneers Monument on land that was the center of Fort Hamilton in the 1790’s, now Monument Avenue at High Street. The Butler County Soldiers, Sailors & Pioneers Monument is topped by a small temple-like structure supported by ten slender Corinthian columns. On the temple dome is "Billy Yank" waving his cap victoriously in the air while standing on an exploded artillery shell. Thiem modeled the soldier's face after his own. Details on the statue are so exact that coat buttons on the bronze soldier include the letters USA. Thiem's design for Victory was selected in a national competition.

Officially opened on July 4, 1906, the "Butler County Soldiers, Sailors & Pioneers Monument" stands on the site of Fort Hamilton, which was built in 1791 by General Arthur St. Clair and enlarged by General Anthony Wayne. Built to honor all men and women who first settled Butler County and to perpetuate the memory of all Butler County soldiers and sailors, much of the interior in this 3-story building is finished with highly polished tablets of Tennessee marble engraved with the names of Butler County pioneers and veterans of American wars from the Revolutionary War through the Spanish-American War of 1898. Handcrafted life-size art glass windows in the Monument, commemorate the contribution of women during wartime. The Army Nurses portrays a nurse caring for a Civil War soldier and Our Loyal Mothers and Sisters depicts women and children rolling bandages. www.butlercountyohio.org/monument/

“Hebe, Nymph of Streams and Brooks”
In front of the First National Bank Building on High Street is a statue that was installed in 1890 as the first public drinking fountain in Hamilton. In addition to a continuous stream of water for people, "Hebe, Nymph of Streams and Brooks" has a large circular bowl on the street side that served water for animals. This piece was discarded in 1928 and spent almost 50 years in a citizen's backyard. In 1975, it was acquired and restored by the bank for the nation's Bicentennial. Relocated to the corner of Third and High Streets, the original work by Bertel Thorvaldsen (1744-1844) is in Copenhagen. The female figure is Hebe, who is known in various ways in Greek mythology including nymph of streams and brooks, the goddess of beauty, the goddess of youth, attendant to Venus, and wife to Hercules.

Design goals for “The Hamilton Gateway” sculpture were to create forward-looking and celebratory artwork that builds a ceremonial entry to Hamilton, combines historic and contemporary materials, reinforces a pedestrian-friendly space, incorporates light as a key element, and brings historic sculptural work seen in Hamilton’s old municipal buildings to the new civic structure. This 66-foot sculpture in front of the new Government Services Center on High Street created by Andrea Myklebust and Stanton G. Sears, was donated by Judge and Mrs. John R. and Shirley K. Moser.

*Click on thumbnails to see large photos.

“Symmes Monument” in Symmes Park on Third Street in Downtown Hamilton commemorates Captain John Cleves Symmes and his “Hollow Earth Theory”. The theorist, who died in 1829, was a nephew of Judge John Cleves Symmes (1741-1814) who promoted settlement in this region after buying land north of the Ohio River between the Little Miami and Great Miami Rivers. Captain Symmes performed daring feats of bravery in the Battles of Lundy's Lane. As a Philosopher and the originator of Symmes Theory of Concentric Spheres and Polar Voids, Captain Symmes contended that the Earth is hollow and habitable within. Although he was generally ridiculed for his beliefs, Admiral Byrd and Sir Edmund Haley shared them. The monument was erected in the 1840's by Americus Symmes to mark the gravesite of his father. At the abandonment of Hamilton's old burial ground, only the monument to Captain Symmes remained. It's restoration in 1991 was a bicentennial Gift to the City of Hamilton from Historic Hamilton, Incorporated. Restoration was completed by Edgar Tafur, Sculptor.

Municipal Building Bas-Relief Sculpture Carvings designed by Robert McCloskey - A federal Depression program aimed at relieving unemployment enabled Hamilton civic leaders to fulfill "a long-cherished dream" in 1935. The Hamilton Municipal Building at 20 High Street, which cost $548,088 when completed, was dedicated Sunday, November 24, 1935. A variety of workmen and craftsmen were hired to do the work. "Its beauty has been enhanced by the stone carvings, medallion and seal located near the several entrances," Lucian Kahn, head of the dedication committee, said of the structure. "Models of these were executed by our fellow townsman, Robert McCloskey", Kahn continued. "This young sculptor has, with fine artistry, caught the spirit of civic growth from the days of the beginning to the present." (Within a few years, McCloskey would be an award-winning, world-renowned children's author and illustrator.) See Jim Blount for more information.

Fred Brownstein’s “Shared Vision” was inspired by the mission of Fitton Center and the concept of collaboration. The result of a Bicentennial gift made by Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Rogan Carruthers and unveiled in 1997, this sculpture is a seated female figure in casual dress: pants, tennis shoes, shirt. She has sunglasses in her outstretched right hand and her left hand holds the place in a book. She gestures as if offering the glasses, i.e. Shared Vision.

“First Ride” at the Fitton Center for Creative Arts, 101 South Monument Avenue, is the work of internationally known sculptor J. Seward Johnson, Jr. Consisting of two figures, a father and daughter, this sculpture was unveiled in 1997. The girl, seated on a bicycle, is attempting her first ride as her father stands right behind her, just letting go. This sculpture was a gift of the Carruthers Family.

*Click on thumbnails to see large photos.

Community

Urban Community

Business Community

“Community” signifies that Miami University Hamilton, located on Peck Boulevard, serves the community. Created by Stuart Fink in 1997, each of these sculptures refers to a particular segment of the community. The largest piece is an amalgam of the contrasting community themes in the other two pieces. Using house symbols and landscape elements, the 2nd sculpture focuses on a more urban/rural environment. The 3rd sculpture, the smallest piece, is made of shapes reflecting the business and manufacturing communities.

Commissioned by the Butler County Commissioners, "Snapshot" is located in the plaza area in front of the County Administration Building on High Street. Snapshot is a life-size sculpture of seven children on a bench and in a wagon assembled to have their picture taken. Dimensions are 51-feet high x 108-feet wide x 48-feet diameter. According to County Commissioner Courtney Combs, "We wanted to redesign the entrance to make pedestrian traffic flow better". Combs worked with the City of Sculpture committee to come up with an available sculpture. This piece, by Jane DeDecker, was installed in September 2001.

"Firefighter Memorial" was commissioned by the Butler County Fire Chiefs Association as a memorial to men lost in the line of duty. The artist is George Danhires of Kent, Ohio. This life-size statue depicts a firefighter cradling a small child. Details in the statue are all frozen in bronze — the creases in the boot as the firefighter kneels with a rescued child, the twisted strap at his back, and the tread on the bottom of his boots. Financed by public and private donations, the memorial includes a plaque that lists 15 Butler County firefighters and EMTs who have died in the line of duty. "These souls sacrificed their lives protecting the citizens of Butler County". The first three names on the plaque - John M. Hunker, William M. Love, and George P. Fritz - died in 1912 battling a fire at the Butler County Courthouse.

*Click on thumbnails to see large photos.

"Untitled" is located at George Washington Junior High School on Madison Avenue in Hamilton. This sculpture was created at year-end 1999 to celebrate the new Millennium during the transition between two art teachers. A project of Joyce St. John who left the school in 1999 and incoming teacher Lisa Booth who has since remarried and is now Lisa Walle, the design was completely symbolic - circular pillars get taller as they are closer to the center - symbolizing growth and the movement into a new era. Every student and staff member of the school, approximately 500 people, placed their handprints in the cement coating of sculpture. Additionally, Walle's art club used bits of glass and beads to create a mosaic around the hands. According to Walle, the millennium piece "was appropriate at the time due to Hamilton's designation as 'City of Sculpture'. Since art is used to commemorate history, everyone participating felt a part of history. Many of the students still remember where their hand is and try to see how much they've grown."

“Spring” is a 2-figure, life-size bronze piece of two college-age students situated in poses as if between classes studying. Spring, the work of J. Seward Johnson, Jr., was created in 1979 , installed at the Fitton Center in 1998, and made possible through a gift by Richard J. Fitton.

In a 1940’s children’s book by Hamilton Native, Robert McCloskey, Lentil marches through town, his harmonica and dog in tow. McCloskey is now an award-winning author and "Lentil" has marched into Hamilton to the corner of High at Front Street. A gift of the Hamilton Community Foundation, this piece illustrates the Community Foundation's commitment to provide permanent legacy gifts to the city. Nancy Schon, creator of the "Make Way for Ducklings" sculpture in Boston, was commissioned to create the life-size replica of “Lentil” and his dog. The Lane Library held a contest to name the dog, who remained nameless in the book. After the contest involving community school children, Lentil's dog finally was given a name: Harmony. Municipal Building pioneer carvings on High Street and Monument Avenue was Mr. McCloskey’s first commissioned project.

*Click on thumbnails to see large photos.

“Space Tower” by Hamiltonian Edgar Tafur was created originally for Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, and it stood in Eden Park for 10 years before needing to be moved. Hamilton physician, Dr. Richard Glins, purchased this piece in 1980. Then it was installed in Peter R. Rentschler Park on the west bank of the Great Miami River at Ross Avenue and "B" Street. According to Tafur, "Space Tower" was inspired by the American space program. If you look closely, the countdown can almost be seen.

In 1984, Hamilton businessman Harry T. Wilks acquired the core 40-acre property of what has become Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park and Museum. Pyramid Hill is an outdoor museum focusing on contemporary, monumental pieces of sculpture in an environment of meadows, forests, lakes, streams, and gardens. It is one of only three such facilities of its scale in the United States. Pyramid Hill is actively establishing a collection that will present a complete history of sculpture as a component of its educational commitment. Currently there are more than 30 pieces of sculpture on 265 acres located on Hamilton-Cleves Rd. (SR129). To see more sculptures in this collection and to read about the local sculpture park and museum, visit www.pyramidhill.org

	"Legacy of Literature" by Rosalind Cook was donated by Dr. James Stewart and Terril Stewart. This 6-ft x 5-ft bronze piece depicts an older gentleman reading to a young boy and girl. As a tribute to the search of knowledge through reading, it was installed in April 2002 at the Anthony Wayne Building at High Street and Monument Avenue in downtown Hamilton
	"Wind Forest" by Utah artist, Lyman Whitaker, is located at the Great Miami River Dam Overlook on Neilan Boulevard. According to Lyman, ‘People love wind sculptures ... a calming force. They provide serenity in a world of confusion.’ Hamilton, City of Sculpture commissioned these pieces that were dedicated in March 2002.
	*Click on thumbnails to see large photos.
	"Star Formation" is a 20-foot tall abstract stainless steel sculpture, which was completed in August 2002. This piece, by Artist-in-Residence Dennis Baker, was commissioned by Hamilton, Ohio, City of Sculpture and placed on Monument Avenue across from Fitton Center.
	"Passages" by Phillip Joseph is located at Parrish Auditorium, Miami University Hamilton, 1601 Peck Boulevard.
	Rosalind Cook's "Someday" is located at Potters Golf Course, 417 New London Road. Created in memory of Bill Wolf who was a well-known Hamilton philanthropist instrumental in establishing the Hamilton Community Foundation, the piece of art was donated to the city by his wife and children. "My father loved Hamilton and was passionate about golf", his daughter Mary Levin said. "Donating the sculpture was our attempt to give back to the city and memorize him." According to the artist, this piece was created as a tribute to the love of golf. ‘Someday maybe I could be a pro ... or someday maybe I could make a hole in one’. Someday was dedicated in April 2002.
	Andrea Myklebust and Stanton G. Sears created the "Butler County Peace Officer Memorial", which was dedicated in May 2002. This piece consists of a life-sized bronze statue in the likeness of Police Inspector Arthur Walke, the first Butler County officer killed in the 20th century, and a curved granite wall engraved with the names and dates of death of the county’s 20 fallen peace officers from seven different agencies. The memorial is located at the Butler County Jail, 705 Hanover Street.
	"Double Dancer" was commissioned by Hamilton, Ohio, City of Sculpture. This piece suggests two people, male and female, merging into one person through dance. A more psychological perspective is seeing the masculine and feminine sides of everyone. The location of this piece by artist, Dennis Sohocki, is Third and Market Streets in downtown Hamilton.
	*Click on thumbnails to see large photos.
	"Hanna" by L’Deanne Trueblood, was installed June 16, 2002, for children as a memorial gift. Dedicated to the memory of Robert Brown, this piece was given by friends and family. Hanna is located at the Presbyterian Creative Center, 23 Court Street, in downtown Hamilton.
	"Pioneer Family" by Cincinnati artist, Jarrett Hawkins, is located on Monument Avenue in downtown Hamilton. The man is carrying a hoe, which represents agriculture, and a rifle, which represents protection. The woman is standing beside him holding a baby and a Bible. Donated by Dr. John A. Stewart and his wife, Marian Vail Stewart, the faces on the man and woman are taken from a picture of the couple when they were 25 years old. Pioneer Family was installed in September 2002 at the Monument Cabin.
	“The American Cape” Sculpture of Alexander Hamilton, the City of Hamilton’s namesake, was commissioned by Hamilton, Ohio, City of Sculpture, Inc. as a collaborative project with Historic Hamilton, Inc. The artist of this 13-foot high bronze is Kristen Visbal of Lewis Delaware. The sculpture was installed in the High Street Median at Journal Square and dedicated on October 23, 2004. Educational plaques placed at Journal Square describe the contributions that Alexander Hamilton made to the formation of the U.S. government. Fundraising for this community project raised the $200,000 needed to bring Alexander to downtown Hamilton! Click Here to See Photos of The American Cape
	"Come Unto Me" is an interactive sculpture of Jesus calling the children to him. He has a child on one knee and the other knee is open for children to sit on his lap. The smile on His face conveys the love He has for each of us. Located at The Presbyterian Church, 19 South Front Street, in downtown Hamilton, the unveiling was August 31, 2003. Created by artist, Rosalind Cook, this sculpture was purchased with donations from the congregation and the community. The following is the artist's statement: "My sculpture is an extension of who I am. My experiences, my personality and my faith are all expressed through my work in ways that strive to speak to the viewer on a personal level. I want my work to go beyond simply an expression of self. The real joy comes in creating images through which the viewer can discover a part of who they are. To that end, the true purpose of my work is to celebrate life and lift the human spirit. I use reality as a point of departure. As an artist, the challenge is to take the elements of composition, design, rhythm, movement and energy to best communicate the essence of the message for a particular sculpture. Therein rests the strength of a sculpture that can communicate with the viewer aesthetically and emotionally without pretense or artifice."
	*Click on thumbnails to see large photos.
	The bronze and granite sculptural installation, "No Child Left Behind", commemorates President George W. Bush’s signing of the Education Bill at Hamilton High School on January 8, 2002. Each of the nine figures in the sculpture is a realistic portrait of someone that is or was affiliated with the Hamilton City Schools. This magnificent life size sculpture was made possible through the generous donation of the Carruthers Family. Sculptor, Jarrett Hawkins, was commissioned to create this art. The piece is located in the Sculpture Plaza at Hamilton High School and will be dedicated on June 8, 2004.
	"Helios Guardian", a sculpture that once adorned the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Gardens, is making its way to Hamilton. The City of Sculpture organization recently purchased the piece from the zoo and has received permission from Hamilton City Council to place Helios in Miami Woods on New London Road (across from Potter's Golf Course). Helios, a big metal sculpture that looks like giraffes and elephants, was crafted by Minneapolis sculptor Michael Bigger.
	This is a piece from the Bats Incredible exhibition in downtown Cincinnati. Produced by Artworks, Bats Incredible! was an 8 month long celebration of art, community, Cincinnati baseball and FUN that put hundreds of giant Slugger Sculptures on the streets of Downtown Cincinnati, Covington and Newport. This public art project used 11,000 major league, regulation sized baseball bats to construct over 250 Slugger Sculptures. The Bats Incredible! exhibition began June 14, 2003 and ran through the end of October 2003. On November 6, 2003, Bats Incredible! hosted a public auction of the Slugger Sculptures to benefit local non-profit organizations. City of Sculpture, Inc. purchased the piece, "Triple Play on Broadway" at the auction. Artists: Jack Gartner & Tim Timberman – GBBN Architects (sponsor) Installed: July 2004 – Westside Little League Park, Eaton Avenue.
.	"Keeper of the Garden" - hand-carved Indiana limestone - 52” high (2 pieces) This sculpture was purchased by Hamilton, OH, City of Sculpture, Inc. and placed in the First Financial Bank High Street Garden in November, 2004, with a formal dedication held on April 22, 2005. Cincinnati Sculptor, Daryl Johns has thirty years of carving experience. He says, "Working with stone has given me a new outlet for my creativity and has allowed me to enhance my skills as an artist". "Keeper of the Garden originated in my feeling that every garden has a superior being overseeing all of the wonders that emerge from the earth. This sculpture attempts to represent that being", explains Johns. "Keeper of the Garden is the beginning of a series of pieces that will be similar just as human faces are similar but will vary, as human faces do also. I will work on this series until the vein is out, but this piece will always hold the significant first title. Keeper of the Garden represents my first sculpture in a public setting. It is also the first stone sculpture acquired by the City of Sculpture.”
	*Click on thumbnails to see large photos.
	Fort Hamilton Hospital is proud to announce the dedication of a special piece of artwork in honor of the hospital’s 75^th anniversary. In May of 1929 the hospital opened its doors to serve this community. The preceding 2 years had been spent collecting the money necessary to purchase the land, build and furnish the hospital. A beautiful, life sized, bronze sculpture by Alfred Tibor will be installed near the front entrance to Fort Hamilton Hospital. Dr. James and Mrs. Terrell Stewart generously paid for the sculpture. Their love of art and Dr. Stewart’s long-term affiliation as a surgeon at Fort Hamilton made them the perfect couple to give this lovely gift to the hospital. Commemorative bricks are available to honor or remember loved ones. The City of Sculpture graciously assisted with the artist search. Proposals were presented to the sculpture committee and an artist selected. Mr. Alfred Tibor of Columbus was chosen because his design truly matched Fort Hamilton’s premise that everyone at Fort Hamilton, from the physicians to the custodians, is working to provide our families with the best care available, their “dedication and knowledge celebrate life”.
	The Hamilton Police Department received a generous donation from Pat and Donna Carruthers for the construction of a Police Memorial Plaza. Their gracious donation enabled the police department to erect an everlasting memorial. The H.P.D. Memorial Plaza was unveiled on Friday, December 2, 2005. Project Coordinator Captain Joe Murray stated, The Protector is a dramatic and visible symbol of law enforcement at its best. This positive image is located at the Hamilton Police Department, 331 S. Front Street — for a memorial of Hamilton Police officers killed in the line-of-duty.” The original “PROTECTOR” was created for Chief Andrew Revering and the Anoka City Police Department in 1987. Chief Neil R. Ferdelman added, “It depicts a uniformed officer holding the hand of a small child, and symbolizes all that is honorable in our profession.” The Hamilton Police Department's bronze statue was customized by Brodin Studios Inc. and features an officer wearing a Hamilton Police uniform. The officer is holding the hand of a little girl. The Hamilton Police Department plans to add additional sculptures to the Memorial Plaza when funding becomes available.
	Fundraising for When in Rains It Pours was a success! This bronze water sculpture by Miles Metzger has been placed on Main Street at the new Armstead Park where other features in the park are a bandstand, park benches, donated trees and a memorial to the late Roy Bond, former businessman and president of the Main Street Area Association. The Main Street Area Association's fundraising committee extends a THANK YOU to all of the contributors to the Main Street Armstead Park project.
	*Click on thumbnails to see large photos.
*Hamilton/Munich DreamWeavers* Peace Sculpture Project**	The Hamilton DreamWeavers Peace Sculpture consists of 100 individual weavings. These weavings have been woven on circular looms. The weavings were lined up and joined together with plastic cable ties. A 50 yard 9 gauge wire was woven through the line of weavings. The wire/weavings were manipulated to spell the word "peace". A length of wire remains exposed at both ends of the sculpted word "peace". The sculpture rests on one side of a black 8'x16' platform that has been signed by the student artists with thick white and silver sharpie markers. Creating a European DreamWeavers Peace Sculpture: 100 European children (ages 10 -12) will make a European DreamWeavers Peace Sculpture. The European children will create their sculpture as detailed above, however, the wire/weaving will be spell "peace" in the German language–der friede. Creating a Complete DreamWeavers Peace Sculpture: Once the European sculpture has been created, its' end wires will be attached to the Hamilton sculpture’s end wires. Both sculptures will rest on the same platform, and the European child-artists will be invited to sign their names along side of the Hamilton child-artists’ signatures. The combined sculpture will represent the voice of children everywhere calling for global peace. The resulting piece will be displayed in Germany and ultimately come back and be installed in Hamilton. Marie Huseman, Art Educator at Cleveland Elementary & Monroe Elementary Schools is the inspiration behind the Hamilton DreamWeavers Peace Sculpture. The City of Sculpture has committed funds to help support this project. Community financial support is welcome!
	Unveiled in June of 2006, Complexity is a mask that Mallory Feltz, a graduating art student at the University of Cincinnati, constructed by draping a hardening fabric over her face, letting it set, covering it in wax and then casting it in bronze using the lost wax method. “I deal a lot with self-identity in my work, so it has to do with that, with what we show people about ourselves and what we choose to hide,” she said. After her senior thesis exhibition was finished last fall, Feltz tried to find a place to keep the five bronze works she had created for the show. Then she heard about the City of Sculpture and its search for works of art to be placed around Hamilton. Feltz likes the location that the City of Sculpture has chosen for her piece and is looking forward to the formal installation and dedication. Complexity will adorn the front yard of the Anthony Wayne Apartments Monument Avenue where it can also be seen from the rear window of The City of Sculpture offices.
	Park Place, by artist Glenna Goodacre, was dedicated on December 20, 2007. Come here to Park Place to find yourself. It is so easy to get lost in the world. Park Place provides space for action as well as contemplation and introspection. A gift to the City of Sculpture, Park Place was generously donated by Sara and Joe Marcum. Seven life-sized figures invite people to join them along a bricked, serpentine bench in the beautiful newly-landscaped park at the southwest corner of the High Main Street Bridge. The sculptor, Glenna Goodacre, is probably best known for her Vietnam Women's Memorial, installed in Washington D.C. in 1993.
	Kitty Bench is located in front of the Hamilton Welcome Center at One High Street. During the summer of 2007, a group of 1956 Hamilton High School graduates decided to create a memorial for their good friend Sally Jo (Moore) L'Hommedieu. These friends generously donated funds to the City of Sculpture for the purchase of a lasting sculptural memorial gift. Knowing that Sally Jo was a cat lover, COS volunteer Gerry Hammond purchased a wonderfully whimsical cat bench by artist, Don Drumm. The bench was ordered through Sherry Armstead at Art on Symmes and was installed with the assistance of the City of Hamilton.
	On May 6, 2007, the new High-Main Bridge with its bas-relief medallions was dedicated. Tom Tsuchiya, a Cincinnati sculptor, created the eight medallions, which depict important times in the history of Hamilton.
	*Click on thumbnails to see large photos.
	During the summer of 2007, Riverside Mallards was installed at the northwest end of the newly dedicated High-Main Street Bridge. This beautiful bronze sculpture was created by Ronnie Wells, and the dedication is scheduled for February 2, 2008, during the City of Sculpture's IceFest event that takes place in downtown Hamilton.
	On October 17, 2007, Colonial unveiled a new sculpture Learn and Grow Together honoring Kathy Jackman, who was the founder of the Community Preparatory School at the Westover Retirement Community. The new piece sits in front of the Stahlheber Road entrance of the school and was created by John Leon.