Landrun Monument could go unfinished
The Oklahoman
Mon April 14, 2008
City's historical statue could go unfinished if funds fall short
By Bryan Dean
Staff Writer
The Land Run of 1889 offered free land to anyone who could race across central Oklahoma and stake a claim.
But the heroic-sized bronze statues commemorating the Land Run on the south end of the Bricktown Canal are not free.
Increases in the cost of materials caused the city to remove seven of the planned 45 pieces from its contract with the sculptor five years ago, and funding for the additional pieces still has not been identified, officials said.
When funding for the project runs out in 2012, the city will face a choice — find more money or leave the monument unfinished.
The $5.1 million project is funded by the city, state and federal governments. A federal grant paid for $1.7 million, and the state dedicated $1.7 million, part of it through the Centennial Commission.
The city has allocated funding on a yearly basis to cover its $1.7 million share.
The project was pitched in 2000 as part of the Oklahoma Centennial celebration. In 2003, the city reworked its contract with artist Paul Moore to delay seven of the pieces.
The pieces also are taking longer than expected to cast.
The city is paying for the sculptures as each piece is completed by the sculptor and cast by a Norman foundry. The two largest pieces, covered wagons weighing 10 tons each, took 11 months to cast, said Jane Abraham, assistant to the city manager.
"They are bronze and the inside is stainless steel,” Abraham said. "There is a lot of metal in the whole thing. You have challenges too because there are only so many foundries that can handle heroic-size sculptures. We've tried to find other foundries that do high-quality work.”
The options are limited
It will all be worth it, though, Mayor Mick Cornett said.
"We consider this by itself a reason to pull off the interstate in Oklahoma City,” he said. "Even with the smaller number of pieces, it is still the largest series of bronze anywhere in the world. It's still going to be a significant piece and something the community is going to be very proud of.”
The monument will be visible from the new Interstate 40 Crosstown Expressway, which is scheduled to open in 2012, the same year funding for the monument will run out if new sources are not found.
Moore, the sculptor, said the foundry costs went up about $1.2 million early in the project. The delays have mostly been related to the size of some of the pieces, the wagons in particular.
"Every day it's something new that pops up,” Moore said. "With any project you are going to have problems, the bigger the project the more problems you are going to run into.”
Material costs have leveled off some, but Abraham said more pieces could be put off if costs continue to rise.
"There is a little bit of room to accommodate some additional cost increases,” Abraham said. "The increases have slowed down and for the last couple of pieces they haven't increased.”
Abraham said the city can't expect Moore to foot the entire bill for increased costs.
"Then he'd go out of business, and we would have unfinished work,” Abraham said.
Cornett said the city has put off a decision on whether to look for additional money to finish the project as it was originally conceived, but the $5.1 million will not cover more than 38 pieces.
Cornett said part of the problem is the nature of a public art project as opposed to road or building construction. There are no frills to cut.
If the project runs over budget, the monument has to be scaled back or the budget has to be increased.
"Your options are less on a deal like this,” Cornett said. "You can't change artists or materials. You deal with it the best you can.”
Finishing the project
David Poerio of Mustang works downtown and admired the partially completed monument Thursday. He said the monument could be a big tourist attraction and should be finished, even if the city has to find more money.
"I don't think they should cut back on their original vision,” Poerio said. "There's got to be someone out there who would fund something like this. I think people would get off the highway, especially with the walking paths. I come out and walk this area for lunch all the time.”
Abraham said work should speed up now that the two largest pieces are done. Cornett said there is no disputing the quality of the work, which he believes will increase public sentiment for completing the monument.
"I think that eventually we will see every piece done,” Cornett said. "But right now, I think we just need to concentrate on finishing the project as it is and then at some point in the future determining what our funding options are.”
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Originally Posted by Pete Brzycki
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