Pictured immediately below is a high-dynamic range (HDR) portrait of the center and its parking lot taken from the railroad tracks flanking the park’s western border. Below that are three pictures of the center taken under normal weather conditions. The fourth photo below captures the center in the far background during a windy snowstorm late on the night (or early morning hours) of March 24-25, 2013.
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A likeness of President James Garfield, the park’s namesake, stood on a pedestal outside of the Burrello Family & Aquatic Center beginning shortly after the likeness was finished, in 1999. The likeness was created by sculptor Chie Kramer and woodcarver Dennis Maddox. They created the statue from a single piece of sycamore wood weighing an estimated 2,000 pounds.
I’d noticed (and photographed) the sculpture, containing obvious deterioration issues, as early as 2006. The statue remained in front of the center on its pedestal until sometime in 2009. That year, I noticed it missing on many pass-bys weeks apart (I used to go past the center on my tri-weekly runs through the park).
Curious about the long absence, I inquired about its whereabouts. I called Indy Parks and talked to its spokeswoman at the time, and she said the sculpture had been moved indoors for restoration and to protect it from the elements from further damage. The wording in her description gave me reason to believe the artwork would be restored and returned.
But as all of us who visited the park on a regular basis know today, the James Garfield sculpture never came back.
Below are photos of the sculpture, beginning with a side view half-body shot, followed by two closeup shots depicting a significant crevice along the side of the head. Those are followed by a backside silhouette; a perspective shot, showing where the sculpture stood in relation to the Burrello Center; and the snow-covered empty pedestal, photographed during a March 2013 winter storm.
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