Dedication Set for 4th Street Bridge Monuments
A ceremony is being held on Monday, April 14, at 2 p.m. at 4th Street and Elmhurst Avenue, at the northwest end of the bridge.
The monuments were constructed by local artist Ken Williams and DS Masonry of Pueblo under a $300,000 contract from CDOT that included design, fabrication and installation. DS Masonry installed the brick framework and the artwork was added to each monument by Williams. The sculptures atop the monuments consist of a 30 foot high column of masonry with sculpted and glazed brick from the Williams Studio. The work took approximately six months and was completed in the fall of 2013.
Following receipt of 21 entries, three finalists were shortlisted. Williams’ designs then were chosen by a selection committee, consisting of a public art manager, the Pueblo Performing Arts Guild, adjacent property owners, Downtown Association, City Council representatives and CDOT staff. Selection criteria included artistic merit of past work, appropriateness of the art medium as it relates to the bridge structure, durability & ability to withstand use and climate extremes, maintenance regime (including an anti-vandalism approach), response to knowledge of local culture, heritage, history and identity and references with similar work and satisfaction of previous installed public art works.
As part of the construction of the 4th Street Bridge, four monument bases were built into the project in anticipation of commissioning an artist to construct “Gateway Monuments”, two on each side.
