Best Public Art Commission '96

Best Public Art Commission

Main Library Sculpture
101 N. Stone Ave.

READERS' PICK: Back when this was installed and everyone hated it, there were a handful of people who predicted that in a few years the sculpture in front of the Main Library would become a local favorite. Looks like that day has arrived, readers. We suspect it's because everyone has finally figured out that it's not a sculpture at all but a huge, hollow metal percussion instrument. Every place you bang on it brings out a different tone. We recommend saving your knuckles and bringing wooden mallets. Metal hammers will mar that pretty red finish and get you in trouble with the law.

READERS' POLL RUNNER-UP: The state-funded roadway improvements at I-10 and Miracle Mile didn't start out as a bid for public art; but thanks to the artistic vision of local landscape architects Wheat-Gallaher Associates, who won the bid for the roadway landscaping and of their own volition recruited an artist consultant to liven up the hardscape, we get to claim these lovely I-10 murals as such. See the capsule under Best Roadway Landscaping for more information on the project, which includes the murals by Gary Mackender.

1998 Winner: Downtown Bus Stops