Existing comment:
Art on Call #9
Mount Pleasant Street, ca. 2004
During the second half of the 20th century, housing in Mount Pleasant was relatively affordable. Recent immigrants, students, young professionals, and families from diverse economic backgrounds populated the neighborhood. In 1986, residents wishing to preserve the neighborhood's architecture helped gain historic district statue for Mount Pleasant. In the late 1990s, the cost of housing increased dramatically. Higher housing costs attracted wealthier residents, but also made it difficult for some longtime residents to remain.
Today,. Mount Pleasant is a vibrant neighborhood with an active citizenry and a reviving commercial district. Roughly 12,000 people live within its boundaries of 16th Street, Harvard Street, and Rock Creek Park. As of 2004, Mount Pleasant is one of the most ethnically, racially, and economically diverse neighborhoods in the city.
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Mount Pleasant Unveils DC's First Art on Call Boxes
Washington, DC (July 19, 2004) – Mount Pleasant is the first of dozens of DC communities to refurbish its abandoned fire and police call boxes as street icons combining art and heritage.
On Saturday, July 24, Cultural Tourism DC, the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, Historic Mount Pleasant, and Mount Pleasant artist Michael K. Ross will present nine sculptures placed inside the neighborhood's boxes as part of the citywide Art on Call initiative.
Council Member Jim Graham and DC firefighters and police officers will perform the formal unveiling of "Recalling History: Mount Pleasant's Art on Call boxes" at Hobart and Mount Pleasant sts., NW, at 11 am.
The community celebration features a mariachi band, festive decorations, and tropical refreshments. The artist and neighborhood volunteers will lead walking tours of all nine boxes starting at 12 noon. An open house, featuring an exhibit of Ross's work and refreshments, will be held at 3163 18th Street, NW, from 12 to 6 pm. All activities are free and open to the public.
More than 35 neighborhood organizations are currently working on 600 call boxes as part of Cultural Tourism DC's Art on Call program. These coalitions of residents, artists, and historians are transforming the obsolete street furniture with history, color, and design.
With Cultural Tourism DC as citywide program coordinator and the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities as major funder, Historic Mount Pleasant and local artist Ross have coordinated Mount Pleasant's Art on Call effort.
"We are thrilled to be the first to finish our Art on Call boxes," says Jeff Brechbuhl, Historic Mount Pleasant board member. "We invite Washingtonians from across the city to come to our neighborhood, discover these beautiful sculptures, and learn more about our history."
"Washingtonians can soon look forward to seeing restored call boxes across the city," says Cultural Tourism DC executive director Kathryn S. Smith. "Dupont Circle, Capitol Hill, and Brookland are only a few of the neighborhoods that are next in line."
"Recalling History: Mount Pleasant's Art on Call Boxes" recreates scenes from the neighborhood's history, starting with the area's Native Americans and moving through the arrival of today's multicultural immigrants. Ross's bronze sculptures fit neatly inside the call boxes where emergency telephones were formerly located. Plaques explain the historical context for each artwork.
The call box sculpture located at Hobart and Mount Pleasant sts., NW – where the formal inaugural will take place – is titled, The Trolley Arrives in Mount Pleasant. It features residents riding a miniature trolley car and illustrates how the trolley line (now bus line 42) helped transform a small village of wood frame houses into a bustling Washington City suburb just after the turn of the last century.
Casualties Arriving at the Mount Pleasant Hospital, May 1864 is located at Park Road and Mount Pleasant Street. This dramatic scene shows the arrival of wounded soldiers on a horse-drawn ambulance wagon as medical staff rush to their rescue. Fast-forwarding to the 20th century, Mount Pleasant Street Today (at Kenyon and Mount Pleasant sts.) depicts modern day people going about their business. Residents walk down the street, pet a dog, and eat in a neighborhood restaurant.
"It was important to me that the sculptures be relevant beyond the particular times and places they represented. They are not just illustrations of particular events," says Ross. "I like to think the sculptures have a more universal relevance, because they describe emotions and relationships that occur between people in any time, any place."
Born in Oslo, Norway, Ross is a Norwegian American realist painter and sculptor who has lived in Washington most of his life. The University of Maryland, College Park, graduate now resides in Mount Pleasant. His Art on Call works reflect delicate craftsmanship, anecdotal attention to detail, and sensitivity to the dramatic aspects of history.
The police and fire call boxes were once the mainstay of public safety efforts throughout the city. They were first installed in the 1860s. Built to last, they have – well beyond 1976 when the city instituted the 911 system. Untended and often vandalized until recently, most of the call boxes are still firmly embedded in the city's sidewalks.
In 2000 Cultural Tourism DC launched Art on Call in partnership with the DC Commission for the Arts and Humanities, Downtown DC Business Improvement District, the District Department of Transportation, and the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development.
More than 35 community organizations and 200 volunteers from all wards in the city identified and assessed more than 850 call boxes.
The District Department of Transportation recently stripped, primed, and prepared the boxes for refurbishment. In the meantime, neighborhood organizations have researched their community's history, recruited local artists, and created plans for their call boxes. The resulting projects display a range of styles – from the avant-garde to the traditional. An advisory committee, headed by Cultural Tourism DC and the DC Commission for the Arts and Humanities, reviews the resulting proposals and allocates grants of up to $250 per box. The neighborhood organization is required to match these funds and raise any additional monies. The committee has approved proposals for 125 call boxes so far.
"Many neighborhoods have enthusiastically stepped up to the plate," says Paul K. Williams, Art on Call coordinator. "The Cultural Development Corporation has secured $45,000 for Downtown's call boxes, and the Sheridan-Kalorama neighborhood has obtained $15,000." Mount Pleasant's project cost $15,000, with $5000 provided by Historic Mount Pleasant and Cultural Tourism DC. Additional local sponsors are Main Street Mount Pleasant, the National Endowment for the Arts, and Mount Pleasant ANC 1D.
"It is an exercise in community building," says Smith. "People all over the city are coming together – many for the first time – to explore their heritage in creative ways. They are deciding how best to present the unique flavor of their communities through art."
Williams says, "The process, as well as the final product, is rewarding for everyone. Because Art on Call works are permanent, we hope they will become cherished neighborhood icons, reflecting the spirit and energy of Washington's local residents for many years to come."
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Art on Call is a project of Cultural Tourism DC in partnership with the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, Downtown DC Business Improvement District, the District Department of Transportation, and the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development. Additional sponsors are Historic Mount Pleasant, Main Street Mount Pleasant, the National Endowment for the Arts, and Mount Pleasant ANC 1D.
About Cultural Tourism DC: Cultural Tourism DC is a nonprofit, membership-based coalition dedicated to encouraging residents and visitors to experience the diverse heritage and culture of the entire city of Washington. For more information on Cultural Tourism DC, visit www.CulturalTourismDC.org or call 202-661-7581.
About Historic Mount Pleasant:
Historic Mount Pleasant is a non-profit community organization dedicated to the preservation of the architectural heritage of the Mount Pleasant neighborhood. It was incorporated in 1985 by neighborhood residents concerned with maintenance and enhancement of the community's physical environment. For more information visit www.historicmountpleasant.org.
About Michael K. Ross:
Michael K. Ross is a Norwegian American realist painter and sculptor currently living in Mount Pleasant. He graduated from the University of Maryland in 2000 and has exhibited widely in the Washington area, including at the Walters Museum in Baltimore. For more information visit www.michaelrossart.com or call 202-460-5569.
The above from http://www.culturaltourismdc.org/dch_tourism2608/dch_tourism_show.htm?doc_id=233133 |