THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, April 7, 1995 TAG: 9504050195
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY IDA KAY JORDAN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 55 lines
SOS! Volunteers wanted to Save Outdoor Sculpture.
The Virginia SOS! program is moving into Hampton Roads, beginning with a workshop Saturday at the Virginia Beach Arts Center.
Starting at 10 a.m., the program will include a presentation by Virginia SOS! coordinator Sarah Driggs and training in identification of conservation problems for outdoor sculpture by Melba Myers of the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.
Portsmouth needs volunteers to do the job here, museums director Betty Burnell said. Burnell said the public sculptures, including the historical monuments, are the responsibility of her department.
Portsmouth residents interested in the program are invited to attend the Virginia Beach workshop.
The volunteers will identify and survey outdoor sculpture for the Inventory of American Sculpture at the Smithsonian Institution. The program began last September in Virginia and is funded by a $39,000 grant by the Smithsonian's National Museum of American Art and National Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Property.
Acid rain, pollution, accidents, vandalism and neglect take a toll on the public works, Burnell said, and the SOS! program not only will identify the pieces but identify those in need of care in Portsmouth.
Portsmouth has two highly visible contemporary sculptures, the abstract on Middle Street mall north of High Street, and the dancing figures in front of Willett Hall.
Among the historic markers are the Confederate Monument at High and Court streets; the Commodore Richard Dale Monument at Washington and North streets; the Dale Monument at the foot of Riverview Avenue by the Churchland Bridge in Waterview; the bronze Minuteman at Crawford and North streets; and the Grimes Battery marker in City Park.
Portsmouth Museums history curator Alice Hanes said a bronze bust of Lafayette once stood in City Park, but only the tripod which held it is still there.
In addition, the city's Cedar Grove Cemetery, which dates back to 1832, contains a number of unusual stone monuments marking grave sites of persons prominent in the community, including Revolutionary and Civil War heroes.
The Saturday workshop is free. For more information, call Driggs in Richmond at 804-225-3850 or Betsy Gough-DiJulio of the Virginia Beach center at 425-0000. ILLUSTRATION: File photo
The Save Outdoor Sculpture program will help volunteers protect
sculptures such as this one at Crawford Street.
by CNB