I discovered a new structure at the Anchorage Museum for the first time last weekend – no idea if it’s been there for ages and I never noticed it or if it’s brand new. It looks like it’s made of recycled parks and recreation signs, and is probably designed for play…love it!
Author: Gretchen Fauske
I love Anchorage. I love what it is, what it's been, and what I dream it will be. I share my adventures with DJ (my husband), my fabulous family and friends, two frenchies named Grover and Teddy, and now, all of you. If you love Anchorage too, get in touch - guest posts are welcome!
View all posts by Gretchen Fauske
Thank you! It’s part of the Anchorage Centennial. By local artist Chad Taylor. There is another one in the museum lobby.
More info:
(outside on lawn)
Chad Taylor
Centennial Bench # (1915)
Anchorage, Alaska
Steel, reclaimed park signs, wood
(inside lobby)
Chad Taylor
Centennial Bench #2 (2015)
Anchorage, Alaska
Steel, reclaimed park signs, wood
The centennial bench project celebrates the history and future of public space within the Municipality of Anchorage. Both benches have been constructed out of steel, the material of the railroad which was a critical player in the establishment of the city, and out of reclaimed park signs that have been exhumed from Cold World-era missile bunkers located in Kincaid Park.
Anchorage’s first park, the Delaney Park Strip, was originally a fire break, then a golf course, then an airstrip and now is a public space – reflecting a history of reinterpreting and reimaging what public space can be. This evolution of public space is directly related to the repurposing of old park signs in the centennial bench project, asking what is a bench, what can a bench be, and how can a bench promote new perspectives and relationships?
The Centennial Bench #1 (1915), with its plow or ship-hull like form is intended to exemplify a new society that blazes through a landscape, addressing the needs and desires of city dwellers. The Centennial Bench #2 (2015) explores the opportunity to create and re-imagine our public spaces. While the first one hundred years of Anchorage created a city in a frontier-like landscape through the establishment of industry, housing and infrastructure, the next century of possibility presents many variables, with current, economic, political and environmental events.
It’s fantastic! Thanks so much for the additional information, such a great addition to the museum.