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Statues to bronze Oldsmar streets
By NICOLE JOHNSON
Published May 13, 2005
OLDSMAR - It wouldn't be Florida without some New York transplants.
And Oldsmar is no exception.
The city recently purchased eight life-sized bronze statues sculpted by New York artist Randolph Rose to display throughout the city's downtown and parks.
The bronze sculptures are 3 to 6 feet tall and show children doing such things as reading books and swinging. Their colors vary from a dark bronze to a more copper-toned hue.
"One of the things we feel Oldsmar is lacking is art in the community," said Suda Yantiss, a member of the city's Cultural Advisory Board. "The statues were a way to spread it out over a wide area."
The board approved the statues a few weeks ago, Yantiss said. For more than a year, the board had been considering what type of art project it wanted to take on. There were discussions of installing waterfalls or fountains.
The bronze sculptures of children seemed city-friendly, economical and sturdy, Yantiss said.
The board began considering Rose's sculptures after city parks and recreation director Lynn Rives obtained the artist's catalog at the National Parks and Recreation conference in Reno, Nev., last fall.
The city spent a total of $19,000 on the eight statues, Rives said.
The city will begin installing the 50- to 100-pound statues in the next month. Rives said officials are studying the best way to secure the bronze sculptures. They will likely secure the statues with concrete slabs to "make sure they stay in the ground and don't walk away," Rives said.
The statues will be placed along State Street between St. Petersburg Drive and State Road 580. The locations are:
A boy and girl on a tree at SR 580 and State Street.
A boy on a tree by a mail box at Park Boulevard and State Street.
A boy and girl hitchhiking at Washington Avenue and State Street.
A boy and girl on a bench at St. Petersburg Drive and State Street.
A boy and girl in a tree at Cypress Forest Park Recreation Center.
A boy and girl in a tire swing at R.E. Olds Park.
A boy on a scooter at Bicentennial Park.
A girl at a bird house in the Mobbly Bayou Wilderness Preserve North Support area.
Nicole Johnson can be reached at njohnson@sptimes.com or 727 771-4303.
[Last modified May 12, 2005, 00:28:09]
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