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PAYSON GATEWAY PROJECT Established November 17, 2005 ~ Payson Arizona
For More Information ~ Contact:
Bob Hibbert at (928) 468-2234 or, Nancy Cox at (928) 472-1172 Mailing Address: Payson Gateway Project c/o Nancy Cox ● 1903 West Fairway Lane ● Payson, AZ 85541
The Payson Gateway Project is dedicated to establishing a visual ‘sense of place’ along our business corridors to celebrate Payson’s unique history and the superb natural beauty surrounding our Mountain Community under the Mogollon Rim. Beginning with the Round-about at Highway 87 and Tyler Parkway, we wish to share our pride in the Rim Country with visitors and residents alike. Future projects will be identified and addressed. All residents of the region are invited to participate.
In December 2004 a group of private citizens learned that Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) was requiring Home Depot to put in a roundabout at the Tyler Parkway and Highway 87.
Although the roundabout was approved by ADOT and the Payson Town Council, no funding had been allocated for landscaping this 105 ft. circle in the middle of our community. The citizens felt this presented an opportunity to create a "Gateway" to our community and to the Arizona Rim Country area.
Through the efforts of the dedicated members of the Payson Gateway Project, the roundabout will have a wonderful outcropping of boulders with Ponderosa pines & oak trees, grasses and other native vegetation. A local artist, Jim Keller, created a sculpture of a single elk that he will ultimately cast as a life -size bronze statue. This work of art will become a point of pride of the Rim Country for area residents and visitors alike.
Much of the landscape has been donated by local businesses; however, the committee has been actively seeking and raising funds to see the landscaping project come to fruition.
Fundraisers the group has held include golf tournaments both at Payson Golf Course and Chaparral Golf Club. They have also been selling raffle tickets at numerous local events such as the Classic Auto Show, the Aero Show, the Star Valley Spring Fling, the Health and Wellness Fair, the Gila County Rodeo, the Gila County Fair, and the Artists of the Rim Gallery.
These raffle tickets are chances to win a desk-size replica of Keller’s sculpture. This desk-size model is also cast in bronze and valued at $2,450. The drawing will take place on April 27 2008 at the Artists on the Rim Gallery on Main Street. Raffle tickets can be purchased until April 27 at the gallery or by contacting Nancy Cox at 472-1172 or Bob Hibbert at 468-2234. Tickets sell for $5.00 each or 5 for $20.00.
Only 48 of this size will be created before the mold is broken. Also available for sale at $5,750 each are 21-inch tall bronzes called Maquettes. Twenty-four of this size will be available in this limited edition series. Both sizes of the bronze replicas may be seen at the Artists of the Rim Gallery at 408 W Main Street in Payson, Arizona.
The sale of these sculptures in combination with donations is how the life -size bronze will be funded.
Gary Spraggins, a local architect, created the following rendering of the proposed Gateway Project, featuring the life-sized bronze elk atop a rock outcropping, surrounded by Ponderosa Pines and other native landscaping.
Illustration by Gary Spraggins, Architect
The Payson Roundup has printed several articles in regard to this project. If you missed any of them, or would just like to re-read them, please click on the following links:
- Group envisions roundabout island as gateway to north Payson - Tues, 6-7-05 - Council votes to revive statue effort - Friday, 7-29-05 - Mystery elk sends anonymous message - Tuesday, 10-25-05 - Elk statue off to foundry - Friday, 01-27-06 - Payson Gateway Project thank you - Nov. 6, 2007 - The Gateway Project thanks you - May 11, 2007 - Golfing for charity - May 8, 2007 - Charitable tradition tees off - March 30, 2007 - Model of roundabout elk revealed at reception - May 2, 2006 - Residents work to welcome visitors - April 3, 2006 - Town plan to reveal priorities - Feb. 7, 2006 - 2005: A year of turmoil and triumph - Jan. 3, 2006 - Additional items on the council's agenda Thursday - Sept. 13, 2005 - Roundabout elk rises from the dead - Aug. 26, 2005 - Group envisions roundabout island as gateway to north Payson - June 7, 2005
Thank you to the following for their generous donations:
DONATIONS are welcome & greatly appreciated Please make checks payable to/and mail to the following:
Payson Gateway Project-c/o Nancy Cox 1903 West Fairway Lane ● Payson, AZ 85541
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