A modest investment can sometimes produce substantial ascetic rewards. If you enjoy seeing whimsical animals close to their home environment, you might well appreciate the sculptures that were installed in Ann Arbor’s Gallup Park during the summer of 2015. The city of Ann Arbor has been developing its green parks along the mighty Huron River for some decades now. Arguably, the most impressive of these is Gallup Park which includes much—but certainly not all—of both the north and south shores of the Huron River from about 2800 Fuller Road to just beyond the I-23 bridge over the Huron River. The north side boundary includes privately owned property, Fuller Road, and the river bank campus of Concordia University. The tracks of the former Michigan Central Railroad serve, primarily, as the southern boundary of this great park. Just to the west is the city’s Furstenberg Park which, as of 2015, lacked sculpture but has an appealing unpaved waterfront path.
Five locally common animals were sculpted: Canadian Goose;
Frog;
Beaver;
Tiger Salamander and
Turtle
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If you start at the modest building that serves as a canoe rental site, snack facility and comfort station at 3000 Fuller Road, Ann Arbor and walk the 1.63-mile inner loop crossing five bridges over the Huron River and its tributaries, you will see all of these sculptures. They are delightful and, I believe, children-friendly. Children can climb on them while their parents use their cell phones to take picture. This is a delightful addition to the amenities of Ann Arbor.
Gallup Park is a 69-acre facility which may be the most popular non-fee outdoor recreation area in Ann Arbor. The Border-to-Border bicycle trail is designed to be a 35-mile route across Washtenaw County from Wayne County in the east to Livingston County in the North, closely following the Huron River. The two-plus miles of that impressive trail that pass through Gallup Park are paved. Those who ride the trail in Gallup Park will meet the Tiger Salamander and the Frog but will have to detour a bit to see the Canadian Goose, the Muskrat and the Turtle.
Sculptor: These were designed by: Cemrock, a concrete sculpture firm from Calgary and Tucson
Date of Installation: July and August, 2015
Use in 2015: Public Sculpture
Website for the designer or sculptor: www.cemrock.com
Photographs: Ren Farley; August, 2015
Description updated: January, 2016