New Cultural Affairs Pillars – Downtown Abilene

Have you noticed the new stone pillars around Downtown Abilene? We figured you might have some questions about these new features so, we took it into our hands to get all of the details from the Cultural Affairs Council.

There are four pillars around Abilene to designate the Cultural District designed by the Texas Commission on the Arts.

The Abilene Cultural Affairs Council submitted a proposal for a grant to the Texas Commission on the Arts with the title “Be Our Guest,” welcoming people to the Cultural District and incorporating the emphasis on Abilene being the Storybook Capital of America.

After receiving the grant, Abilene joyously welcomed in the new pillars. The pillars are built of limestone, creating a similar aesthetic to the other limestone benches, borders, and sculpture
foundations around downtown Abilene. The letters spell out “Cultural District” in stainless steel and are backlit so they will be visible day and night!  There is even banner capability attached to the pillars for the seasonal celebrations.

Another element of the grant is having Steve Neves, a sculpture professor at Hardin Simmons and the artist for the majority of the storybook sculptures located around Downtown Abilene,
adding a relief of Sanderson Mansnoozie, dba Sandman which will be placed next to the pillar across the street from Frontier Texas! A large stone descripting “Welcome to the Storybook
Capital of America” will also be placed beside the Frontier Texas! pillar.

While this is going to be a wonderful addition to Downtown Abilene, the Cultural Affairs Council did not stop there. Serendipitously, a donor was looking to downsize his sculpture collection and wanted to gift a few pieces to Abilene, Texas! Two of the pillars will have a sculpture next to them created by Austin stone carver Stuart Simpson.

After all of that information you must be wondering where are these pillars?!

Here is the list of the locations and take a little walking tour around Downtown Abilene to see if you can spot any of the new sculptures!

1. Corner of N. 1^st and 2^nd
2. Triangle on N 1^st and Hickory
3. Corner of N. 5^th and Orange
4. Median on Pine Street across from the Storybook Garden