September 28, 2006 issue
Downtown Boone Urban Artscape Project; Enhancing the Town’s Future with Public Art
Story by Sam Calhoun
Boone has a long history of community support for the arts, so it’s only natural to assume that art will play an important role in the enhancement of downtown Boone in the future. To serve this purpose, staff at the Downtown Boone Development Association (DBDA), in coordination with the Watauga Arts Council, the North Carolina Arts Council (NCAC) and citizens of Boone, has spent the last year creating a public art master plan, titled the Urban Artscape Project (UAP).
Grants from the NCAC and the DBDA helped fund the project in September 2005, and work on the plan began shortly thereafter. The purpose of the project was to identify specific public art possibilities in downtown Boone and the resources necessary to execute those projects. The plan would include a review of existing art in downtown Boone, identify potential sites for future art installations and make recommendations for the range of art appropriate for public and private settings. Planners also intended for the plan to be community based and a means to develop public support and solicit input.
Additional project support came from Jeffery York, director of public art and community design for the NCAC, and Cynthia Rice, a planner for Landscape Architecture and Planning in Raleigh. Two weeks ago, the DBDA received the catalyst that will make the project come to fruition—Project Coordinator Mary Baker.
Baker, an ASU student just starting a 400-hour internship, has taken over the project and will bring the UAP to the implementation stage.
The UAP was completed at the beginning of this year, and the different groups involved estimated that the implementation grant—the means of funding the proposal—would be started by June 2006. But because of changeovers in management in many of the involved organizations, the project stalled in the middle of the summer. That’s where Baker comes in.
Her purpose, as she described it, is to get the community involved in the project once again, to update the plan of action and by the end of her internship, to obtain the funding necessary for implementation from a grant through the NCAC.
“I would hope that after doing my internship that we will be applying or near applying for the implementation grant,” said Baker.
So What Is the Urban Artscape Project?
According to the UAP, the key goals of the project are as follows: to enhance the pedestrian environment, especially along wider sidewalks; to incorporate functional art in the pedestrian environment; to increase awareness of ample parking located on Queen Street; to create unique identities for the primary streets in downtown, including King Street, Howard Street, Queen Street, Water Street and Depot Street; to continue to participate in formulating transportation improvements proposed by NC DOT to maintain gateways into downtown; to preserve existing art, such as the mural located in the downtown post office; and to incorporate art in the Howard Street project as it moves into detail design and construction.
The UAP states that the result should express Boone’s unique identity, foster community pride and promote economic development.
“Boone is already known as a place for the arts,” said Baker. “We’re just trying to enhance what is already there. It’s adding public art—a new facet. It’s going to be something that everyone in the community is going to enjoy. With this project, it’s not only known that Boone is a town for art when you get here; it will be visible in the streets.”
Baker provided four examples: installing street furniture, preserving the post office, installing sculptures and creating gateways to downtown.
As the first phase of installing public art, unique street furniture is planned for King, Howard, Water and Depot streets. The first component to be commissioned is trash receptacles that will match renovations to Howard Street and mimic color schemes on the ASU campus. Future projects will continue street furniture designs for benches, bicycle racks and lighting.
The second example is the preservation and/or renovation of the downtown Boone post office, one of the town’s only structures on the Historic Register. The UAP calls for the touchup of the indoor mural, and the UAP committee is lobbying for a renovation of the entire structure that is showing signs of neglect and decay. According to DBDA Executive Director Tuesdae Rice, representatives at Congresswoman Virginia Foxx’s local office have committed to working with the UAP committee to restore the post office.
The third example is installing sculptures in public parks and possibly on streets.
The fourth example is to create unique gateways that will lead residents and visitors into downtown Boone. Baker plans to talk to local business owners and hold community meetings to determine what locals want to see on their streets. Baker hopes these yet-to-be-determined gateways will adorn the entrances to King, Queen, Howard, Water and Depot streets, bring a unique identity to the downtown region and create a sense of place.
At this point in the process, Baker is appealing to citizens and business owners to communicate what they would like to see the UAP accomplish. She is open to comments on the above examples and to new ideas that can be added into the plan.
“We’re always taking comments on a plan like this,” she added.
Interested community members can stop by the DBDA office, located at 736 West King Street, to chat with Baker about the UAP or call her at 828-262-4532.
Once Baker hears comments from the public, she will update the UAP to include new recommendations, make sure that all the organizations originally involved—Watauga County Arts Council, NCAC, DBDA—are still on the same page, and then apply for the implementation grant. If the implementation grant does not fulfill the funding needs for the project, Baker will appeal to the Town of Boone and hold fundraisers to raise the missing funds. “And we’ll take donations,” she added.
In the meantime, Baker said she hopes the public will not get frustrated with the amount of time the project is taking.
“We need input; we need ideas,” she said. “Please don’t get frustrated—it takes time. This is why I’m here. It’s what I’m dedicated to doing.”
To discuss the UAP, call Mary Baker at 828-262-4532.
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