While the Kenosha Area is located midway between Chicago and Milwaukee, you needn’t drive to the big city for a taste of art and culture. The Kenosha Area has a blossoming, artful community of its own. Art enthusiasts can make a day of it near the Lake Michigan shore exploring this artful side.
Overlooking Kenosha’s Lake Michigan harbor you’ll find David Floyd’s sculpture “Millennium Gate”. Seeing great potential for public art at HarborPark, Kenosha’s lakefront neighborhood, the metal sculptor offered the city his monumental sculpture created for PierWalk 2000 at Navy Pier Chicago. Nearby is the “Sailing Ship Sculpture” by artist Dan Blue.
Joining these pieces in HarborPark is the Kenosha Sculpture Walk, initiated by the Kenosha Community Foundation Arts Fund. This exhibit runs along the harbor and features nearly a dozen inspiring works of art, making it the largest outdoor art project in Kenosha’s history. The sculptures change every two years. The goal of the Sculpture Walk is to connect the city through the use of public art and encourage visitors to explore Kenosha. Contributions from “Friends” – Kenosha area businesses and individuals – funded the installation and maintenance.
Meanwhile, at Veterans Memorial Park, across 6th Avenue from the harbor, we find Veterans Fountain and the Veterans Statue, a seven-foot tall lone soldier created in cast bronze. Local artist Frank Colicki created this statue to commemorate all of the wars fought by the United States since 1776 as well as the total casualties of each war. The fountain itself features mementos from historic battleground, including an eight-ton boulder from Okinawa and sand from Omaha and Utah beaches in Normandy, and a stainless steel globe with continents made of cast bronze at its center. The fountain is lit at night.
Downtown Kenosha features a number of distinctive wall murals, unique hand-painted storefront signs, and amazing historic architecture inside and out. Also, Kenosha’s National Register Historic Districts contain significant outdoor art of their own. Walk through the Library Park Historic District and we find Abe Lincoln sitting in the corner of Library Park. This bronze statue of President Lincoln was completed by well-known sculptor Charles Henry Niehous of New York in 1909. The statue was a gift from local businessman Orla Calkins, an admirer of Lincoln, to commemorate the 100th anniversary year of the President’s birth. Towering a few feet away is the Kenosha County Soldier’s Monument, “Winged Victory”. This monument was dedicated in 1900. Designed by Daniel Burnham, it consists of a 60-foot monolithic granite Corinthian column capped by a Winged Victory statue, executed by Italian sculptor Decco.
This is a sampling of some of the beautiful public art that can be found in Kenosha. For more art, visit the community’s many art galleries, in Downtown Kenosha and beyond. For more information about things to see and do, contact Visit Kenosha at (262) 654-7307 or visit www.VisitKenosha.com.
