Despite the controversy of the selection of the Arc of History for a key intersection in town, response has mainly been playful – from a Jurassic Arc dinosaur head to a Chinese New Year dragon head, mini-Styrofoam Arcs, a nest of Arc eggs and even a bridal veil honoring June brides.
But now someone has gone further, actually destroying the piece.
“It makes me feel sick to my stomach that someone would destroy city property like this,” said Sherri Dugdale, assistant to the city manager. “Dressing it up in heads and outfits is one thing, but this ...”
When the destruction occurred is still being determined.
“Crews pulling weeds in the area (Tuesday) morning noticed it but didn’t really know what they were seeing,” she said.
The Durango Police Department responded to a report from a passing driver about 7 a.m. Wednesday, according to Lt. Ray Shupe. Police found multiple rocks on both of the Arc’s arms were broken, chipped and destroyed, possibly with a rock pick or pick ax. The city estimates the sculpture, valued at the purchase price of $28,000, is a total loss.
The Arc of History was selected by the Durango Public Art Commission after community input. It was installed at the new continuous-flow intersection of U.S. highways 550 and 160 at the beginning of August 2014. Created by Pennsylvania artist Tom Holmes, it raised ire from the beginning, including a running series of letters to the editor in The Durango Herald.
Holmes said he could not speak about the situation until he spoke with his legal team in New York City.
“I know that people thought that as a piece of art, it was a bit lackluster,” said Karen Zink, who purchased the dinosaur head for her husband’s, Jerry’s, 65th birthday, with the funds going to art education. “But it provided the community with so much fun and connection.”
Zink found the destruction senseless.
“Whoever destroyed the Arc destroyed the fun we were having as a community,” she said. “The city and the police were very gracious about allowing us to have the fun.”
For Shanan Campbell Wells, owner of Sorrel Sky Gallery and a member of the commission, the destruction was an affront to the artist.
“I know it’s been messed with a lot,” she said, “but this is such an unfortunate situation. I tend to look at things from an artist’s point of view, and whether people like it or don’t like it, it is a personal expression that deserves respect.”
Mike Smedley, known for his humor as the Action Line columnist, said there’s nothing funny about the destruction of the sculpture.
“I will miss it,” he said. “It’s part of the local lore. The thing that was magical about the Arc was that it was a font for people’s creativity and a focal point for jokes and humor and good fun.”
In a way, he said, Durango has lost its mascot.
“No Arc deserves this,” Smedley said. “It was owned by the people of Durango, and we are less of a community because of what has happened to it.”
The whodunit is still a mystery, Shupe said. Officers are looking at video evidence from several cameras, he said, but at this time the department does not have any descriptions of suspects or vehicles.
“(Colorado Department of Transportation’s) webcams don’t record anything, they just livestream traffic,” he said. “We’re checking with both the DoubleTree (Hotel) and the (Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad’s) cameras that are in the area, but we have a couple of days worth of video to go through.”
The DPD will need help to identify the culprits.
“That’s a busy intersection,” Dugdale said. “I don’t care if this happened at 2 or 3 in the morning, someone saw something, and I hope they’ll come forward.”
The vandals will face felony criminal mischief charges, Shupe said, because $28,000-worth of damage is substantial.
The city has insurance for its entire public-art collection, Dugdale said, but the deductible may be as much as $5,000, although city staff hasn’t had time to check details.
Will the city replace the Arc of History with a new version or a different sculpture?
“We haven’t had those discussions, and we have to talk to the Public Art Commission,” Dugdale said. “But I imagine we’ll reach out to the artist about replacing it. Of course, it was a unique, one-of-a-kind piece that can’t be duplicated.”
abutler@durangoherald.com