Humboldt County is known for its commitment to the arts and its large population of artists, so it should be no surprise that public sculpture is a prominent part of Eureka's urban landscape. You will find examples in Old Town, Downtown, along the 101 Corridor and even in the Burre Center on Myrtle Avenue. Perhaps the best-known is the sculpture by Dick Crane of a fisherman on Woodley Island in Humboldt Bay. Most of the pieces are abstract, however, ranging from the just barely representational to the entirely nonrepresentational. Many were gifts to the City of Eureka, including a number done by the Pacific Rim Sculpture Group in San Francisco, and others were donated by individual independent artists.
Within the past few years, sculptures have been added to the Madaket Plaza at the foot of C Street along Eureka's waterfront. Five or six appear there annually in a rotating juried show. A noteworthy permanent water feature there, “Following Current Events,” is the work of Eureka sculptor Jack Sewell. There are plans to install more sculptures throughout the downtown area in the coming years.
MORE INFO: City of Eureka Art and Culture Commission, info@eureka-art-culture.com; Eureka Main Street, 707-442-9054
