Three years of visioning, planning, fundraising, and construction culminated in the Spruce Up Spruce Bridge celebration on Sunday, October 13th. ROW’s Pleasant Run Committee came together to unveil two new plazas at Spruce Bridge along with a 10-foot Great Blue Heron sculpture by Indianapolis artist Patrick Mack.
In late 2016, the Pleasant Run Committee chose Spruce Bridge as the next site for focus after successfully creating waterway destinations at Prospect Falls and Barth Avenue. With expertise from Schmidt Associates’ Craig Flandermeyer throughout 2017, the committee gathered input through community charettes and developed an initial design that incorporated an overlook to the Pleasant Run, seating, art, educational signage, and native plantings. Members then organized a campaign through crowdfunding platform Patronicity.
“The collaboration was hugely important to all of us and something I’ve thought about a lot,” said active Pleasant Run Committee member Susan Gaw. “The suggestions we got from the community were so helpful in guiding our decision-making. It was amazing how so many people stepped up at whatever level they could — small donations were just as important as the large donations because it all added up.”
In Summer 2018, the team raised nearly $19,000 in community contributions, from more than 200 residents and businesses, with another $15,000 in funds matched by Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority’s CreatINg Places Program, $15,000 from Indianapolis Neighborhood Housing Partnership and $5,000 from The daVinci Pursuit — a total of $59,215.71 to implement their project.
Next, the community brought in the expertise of ROW’s Arts & Culture Committee to identify a local artist to create a public art piece that would signify the importance of Pleasant Run to the neighborhood’s urban environment. After narrowing down eight options to three in Fall of 2018, the Pleasant Run Committee decided on artist Patrick Mack, who has worked across the country and in Indianapolis, including three sculptures on the Urban Wilderness Trail on White River.
Mack worked with waterway members throughout early 2019 to develop the scale, content, and specific design for a stunning Great Blue Heron that centers the South plaza and provides a visual narrative of the ecological processes at play on our waterways.
In Spring of this year, it was time to make these waterway spaces a reality. Working from the initial design, project manager Kris May of HWC Engineering drilled down to specifics and worked with residents, the City of Indianapolis, and ROW staff to coordinate surveying, permitting, and final construction logistics.
After an initial bid that came in way over budget for this community-fundraised effort, creative alternatives for materials and design were determined and local contractor Heath Outdoor was enlisted to construct the plazas, complete with seating and foundation for the new sculpture. Committee members and ROW staff overcame some obstacles to secure the final permitting needed to complete the project, and the City of Indianapolis waived permit fees.
Finally on October 13th, partners came together in the space to unveil the artwork and celebrate the hard work to make the vision of Spruce Up Spruce Bridge a reality. Mayor Joe Hogsett joined Gaw and Mack in remarks to the crowd. Food, drink, music, and games followed. The Pleasant Run Committee feels confident that Spruce Bridge will become a regular gathering space where people can connect with their waterway, the other life that makes Pleasant Run home, and each other.