Area artists ponder arch

SANDPOINT — It will not be the golden arches, but the steel gate planned for Bridge Street is meant to salve the appetite of art lovers.

The Arts Commission on Thursday answered questions and solicited ideas from the local art community for the project that includes a 20-foot arch crowning Bridge Street at its intersection with First Avenue.

The structure with its 36-foot-wide base spanning from sidewalk to sidewalk will greet downtown pedestrians and motorists heading to City Beach.

A dozen local artists representing a variety of backgrounds attended the Thursday meeting in  the city council chambers in an effort to learn more about the project funded by the Idaho Transportation Department.

“I think it’s exciting to have these kind of projects pop up,” Nelson Boren, a 20-year Sandpoint resident, who is under contract to paint a mural for the Jackson Hole, Wyo., airport, said. 

The $37,000 local project includes designing, fabricating and installing an arch that incorporates the words “Sand Creek.”

Artists can work jointly or independently on the project and a board comprised of engineers, commission members and representatives from ITD and the Panida Theater will select a winning design based on criteria that includes artistic quality, public safety and feasibility.

Carol Deaner, chair of the Sandpoint Arts Commission, said the project is meant to more closely link the city to Sand Creek by redeveloping the area on Main Street between First Avenue and Sand Creek.   

“The project will create an inviting gateway to Sand Creek as well as adding character and individual expression to Sandpoint’s downtown revitalization efforts,” Deaner said.

It is also meant to engage and delight the community, she said.

The commission called for sketches from the arts community.

Submissions must be turned in to the city by April 29.

“We just want your concepts,” Deaner said.

For more information, or to submit proposals for the steel arches contact the arts commission, or Joan Bramblee in the city’s planning department at (208) 263-3370.

The commission also plans a sculpture for the center of the roundabout at the Boyer Ave. and Larch Street intersection.

“This committee is real excited about public art in Sandpoint,” Deaner said.