As a gesture of honor to Carl and Leah McConnell, Santiago Calatrava, the internationally renowned architect and designer of the Sundial Bridge presented a sculpture to The McConnell Foundation upon completion of the bridge. This sculpture has been on display, under the north end of the Sundial Bridge, next to the Sacramento River since 2004.
Last year, Turtle Bay Exploration Park staff removed the sculpture and stored it due to damage and vandalism. The McConnell Foundation commissioned Bryan Tedrick from Glen Ellen, California, to repair the sculpture. Bryan also sculpted The Dancer statue located in front of Old City Hall in Redding.
The City of Redding and Turtle Bay welcome the relocation of the sculpture to a more visible public spot. It will be installed at the south entrance of the Sundial Bridge near the entrance to the museum. This new location will provide a seated drop-off and pick-up area for children and tours arriving and departing, and it will be a public resting and gathering spot.
At the end of 2013, long-time Redding resident Donald A. Domke passed away. He and his wife, Doreeta, have been, since the inception of Turtle Bay, among its most passionate and dedicated volunteers. Don enjoyed a career with CDF, now Cal-Fire, and he loved the outdoors. Many volunteer hours were spent by Don working on the 300-acre Turtle Bay campus. McConnell Foundation Board Chair Bill Cox said, “Our Board felt this would be the perfect place to create Domke Plaza in celebration of Don’s life and to publicly display Calatrava’s sculpture honoring Carl and Leah McConnell.”
Huber & Burton, Inc. and Eric Ross Tile Company spruced up the former sculpture location. The new Domke Plaza is designed by Trilogy Architecture, will be constructed by Gallino Construction, Inc. and will feature recycled glass bench tops built by Second Time Tables in Oak Run. The project is funded by The McConnell Foundation. Work will begin this week and the project will be completed before the Celebrate 10 festivities June 20 – July 4th, 2014.
-from press release