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TUESDAY, MAY 13, 2014
Vol. CXXIII, No. 92
OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE CITY OF TACOMA Devoted to the Courts, Real Estate, Finance, Industrial Activities, and Publication of Legal Notices
Published Published Since Since 1890 1890
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Sun King sculpture to be placed in Tacoma park Thursday By Todd Matthews, Editor After more than seven years in storage, Tacoma's massive Sun King sculpture is scheduled to see light of day this week. City of Tacoma Public Works Project Engineer Dan Cederlund told the Tacoma Daily Index Tuesday morning D & D Construction, a contractor hired by the City, is planning to move the three-ton, 15-foot-tall, 22-footwide bronze-and-steel sculpture from a storage facility to a public park near Thea Foss Waterway. It will be the end of a long journey for a piece of public art that was installed in late-March of 1976 near the corner of Broadway and South 13th Street, just steps from the 25-story, 338-room Sheraton Hotel. Seven years ago, however, Sun King was placed in storage to make way for the glass-and-steel sculpture "Orizon" by Greek artist Costas Varotsos. The expensive, 104-foot-tall sculpture was a signal of sorts for a new era: the former Sheraton Hotel was stylishly renovated and renamed Hotel Murano. The Sun King, which was originally commissioned for $35,000, was displaced. In December, the City began to accept bids on a $25,000 project that would take Sun King out of storage and place it in a public park near South 15th Street and Dock Street. Five contractors submitted bids. Puyallup, Wash.-based D & D Construction submitted the least expensive bid and was awarded the contract. In February, the Tacoma Daily Index was invited to view the sculpture, which has been stored for two years at the City's Fleet Operations Headquarters—a sprawling, 75,000-square-foot, hangar-like structure where more than two-dozen City employees service and maintain some 1,200 police cars, garbage trucks, fire engines, and electric vehicles. TOP: Tacoma's 'Sun King,' a three-ton, 15-foot-tall, 22-foot-wide steel frame sculpture by Corvallis, Ore., artist Tom Morandi has been stored at the City of Tacoma's Fleet Operations Headquarters. It sat near the corner of Broadway and South 13th Street for three decades before it was placed in storage to make way for a new piece of public art. (PHOTO COURTESY TOM MORANDI) RIGHT: Contractors made final site preparations in April before concrete was poured at the future home of Tacoma's Sun King sculpture. (FILE PHOTO BY TODD MATTHEWS)
Meanwhile, record rainfall in March delayed slightly Sun King's return. But in April, the contractor cordoned off the park and poured concrete for the sculpture's base. "I'm pleased at the prospect of having Sun King sited in a public place again," Sun King sculptor Tom
Morandi told the Tacoma Daily Index last month. "The time spent in storage is negligible when compared to the decades and beyond I expect it to be at the park." According to Cederlund, the contractor is expected to remain on-site for several days following Sun King's installation to complete landscaping work related to the project. The City has tentatively scheduled a dedication ceremony for Sun King on Fri., June 20, the day before summer solstice. To read the Tacoma Daily Index's complete and comprehensive coverage of Tacoma's Sun King, visit our Web site for the following articles: — Park preparations begin for Tacoma's Sun King installation (Tacoma Daily Index, April 11, 2014) — Record Tacoma rainfall stalls Sun King's return (Tacoma Daily Index, April 1, 2014) — Tacoma Daily Index Top Stories—February 2014 (Tacoma Daily Index, March 3, 2014) — Could Tacoma's Sun King see light of day by summer? (Tacoma Daily Index, February 26, 2014) — Sun King In Storage: It's no castle, but a Tacoma repair shop is home for now (Tacoma Daily Index, February 11, 2014) — Sun King Dethroned: Can Tacoma ever appreciate this piece of public art? (Tacoma Daily Index, February 5, 2014) — Tacoma Daily Index Top Stories—December 2013 (Tacoma Daily Index, January 2, 2014) — A new home for Tacoma's Sun King? (Tacoma Daily Index, December 3, 2013)