I talked with a lovely gal, a traffic engineer in the city's traffic office, this week. Here's the story I got from her.
She was visiting friends in Montana a couple of years ago and notice painted boxes around the city. She was so taken with them that when she returned home she talked about them at work. One thing led to another, as many good ideas do, and, after applying for a grant to the Erie Arts and Culture group, the traffic dept. erected four boxes over their traffic control equipment right in downtown Erie around Perry Square. The boxes were painted by a local artist, and all show beautiful flowering plants and bushes of our region.
They were such a hit that they applied for a second grant and, lo and behold, they received the OK for more "city art." Now 15-20 more of these unique pieces can be found again built around traffic control boxes throughout the downtown area. This time they each showcase special people or groups of people that are important to Erie, as one of the sides of each box details their history.
What a wonderful thing for our city. Thank you to L. at the City of Erie traffic department!
Here's one of the original four.
This one is at 8th and Parade St. and honors the founder of Kraus Dept. Store.
The side not shown here gives a brief bio. on him.
This is one of a number that offer "Welcome" to the many new citizens
who have come into our community during the last few decades.
No comments:
Post a Comment