Project Name and Location: “Pioneer Courage” & “The Spirit of Nebraska’s Wilderness” Sculpture Park, is an excellent example of a private / public collaboration providing a unique gateway into the CBD of Omaha, Nebraska.  

Project Summary: The design team’s vision was to create an interactive sustainable sculpture park with the public not only observing America’s history, but becoming a participant and member of the wagon train, walking in and around the wagons, animals and birds. The team’s intent was to shape a modern urban park, engage the city’s architecture, restore 2 large city blocks to green space, utilize native plants and materials and set the standard for future figurative sculpture monuments in America.

The project unveils the story of life on the morning of May 21, 1841, long before the current urban landscape was created. The contextual use of the city’s architecture (private and public) as the canvas and the urban landscape (building facades, sidewalks, planters, traffic lights, streetlights, and an atrium) provide a unique setting for the largest installation of site specific bronze and stainless steel figurative works of art in the Country.

The optimism and courage of the families are captured as they embark on a journey that will forever change their lives and transform our nation. That “can do” attitude is portrayed in each facial expression, body gesture, and group activity as they break camp and proceed west with all of their worldly possessions. The wagons meander through a dry creek bed, with the noise causing a herd of bison to stampede, flushing a flock of Canada Geese from their resting place on a nearby pond. The flight of the geese is portrayed during different stages, beginning with the birds taking off, then attached to 18’ bronze trees, a traffic signal, the corner of a building, a light pole and suspended in an atrium.

Role of Landscape Architect: The team, led by the landscape architect of record, included 3 additional landscape architectural firms, 3 of America’s finest figurative artists, 3 architectural firms, 2 contractors, 2 stone consultants, a fountain contractor, an art consultant and the client. Additional roles included specifying the 1¼ scale for the project, collaborating and unifying the visions of 3 creative artists, establishing lighting requirements, merging 2 independent sites and 5 city blocks into a cohesive “Big Idea”, and creating a stage for the art.

There have literally been dozens of team meetings, conference calls and visits to artists’ studios, quarries and foundries to discuss conceptual or collaborative issues, site concerns, technical problems and installation questions. Detailed measurements and digitizing the site allowed the team to design, sculpt and install the project without major issues. Meticulous recreations of the architectural facades were created in the artists’ studios to insure a seamless installation and minimize their time on site during installation.

Significance: The Client’s Goals for the Sculpture Park included: (1) to provide a contribution to the City of Omaha and the State of Nebraska exemplifying the client’s commitment to the area, and capturing the milestones associated with the 150 years of partnership between the entities; (2) to unify their downtown campus of 9 city blocks by using a cohesive artistic style, similar materials, art mediums, signage, etc. throughout the monument; and (3) to commission a world-class team to create one interrelated park defining a corporate identity to be shared with the community. The park required 11 years to complete, utilized traditional materials of granite, limestone, native plants and prairie grasses to capture the essence of what once was. Sustainability was at the center of the design processes with efforts retain runoff, use native materials and minimize future operational and maintenance expenses.

Special Factors: The team was not given a budget, site parameters or subject matter specifications; it was, in fact, given a clean slate and through the charette process individual ideas were merged into a story line honoring the historical events of the area.

Returning two large parking lots into green space has provided visitors and individuals living and working in the downtown area an oasis in the middle of a concrete environment. The client provides a variety of musical performances throughout the year and invite everyone to enjoy the space throughout the year. The revitalized public space provides a setting for professionals to discuss business issues and, perhaps most importantly, a personal space just to reflect and to relax in the middle of the hustle and bustle of today’s fast pace environment.

The response and comments from visitors and residents alike on the site’s design, craftsmanship, detail, quality, scale and the historical accuracy of the sculpture have been overwhelmingly positive. Eleven years of filming will produce a TV documentary to be aired this fall, with an educational component being created for distribution to schools at all levels. The philanthropic gift to the region harkens back to the patronage of Italy’s Medici family.