Post by district5 on Jan 18, 2013 17:35:40 GMT -5
City firefighters preserve art, history
Sculptural reliefs depict fire operations through time
Jan 17, 2013 Cincinnati.com
Written by Carrie Blackmore Smith
WALNUT HILLS — Cincinnati firefighters will carefully pry a dozen pieces of art off the walls of the former Eden Park Pump Station this morning, hoping to reveal a signature or company insignia.
It’s unknown who created the work, installed when the building was converted from a water pumping station to the city’s fire dispatch center in 1939. They decorated the “fire tower” – as firemen called it – until it closed in 1988.
The pieces sat in darkness for years, until firefighters decided to rescue them.
Cincinnati Fire Department union President Matt Alter said the pieces – portraying firefighting methods used in Cincinnati between 1700 to 1939, such as four men operating a manual water pump in 1785 or horses pulling a fire engine in 1910 – must be preserved.
“It’s a really important reminder of (CFD) history – both in how far we have come and what traditions we still hold,” said Alter, who will lead the effort to remove them from the pump house at 1430 Martin Drive near the Krohn Conservatory, which is slated to become a beer brewing facility .
The pieces are bas-relief, said Lynne Ambrosini, chief curator at Cincinnati’s Taft Museum of Art.
The image was probably carved out of wood or linoleum block then filled in with plaster or a similar material to create the relief, said Jennifer Burt of the Wiebold Studio, an art restoration company in Terrace Park.
Fire officials believe they were completed by the end of the 1940s because they have dated photos that show them hanging on the walls.
“They’re well done,” Burt said. “Reliefs were a really good way for public places to be decorated with something sturdy and dependable.”
She said they were likely white or cream-colored, but age and dirt have turned them more of a yellowish-green color. In the 1939 panel the fire engine says “CFD,” so Burt believes they were made specifically for Cincinnati.
Alter’s plan is to put them on display at IAFF 48 union headquarters at 1011 W. Eighth St. in Queensgate for the enjoyment of union members, their families and the public. Alter said the murals will help celebrate the fire department’s 160th year in operation.
The first thought was to display them in Downtown’s Cincinnati Fire Museum, but there isn’t enough room. Half of the murals are 4-by-6-feet and the other half are 4-by-2-feet .
Architect Jack Martin is leading investors to redevelop the building into a brewing facility and taproom, at $5.2 million. “I’m glad the pieces will have a new home,” Martin said.
Sculptural reliefs depict fire operations through time
Jan 17, 2013 Cincinnati.com
Written by Carrie Blackmore Smith
WALNUT HILLS — Cincinnati firefighters will carefully pry a dozen pieces of art off the walls of the former Eden Park Pump Station this morning, hoping to reveal a signature or company insignia.
It’s unknown who created the work, installed when the building was converted from a water pumping station to the city’s fire dispatch center in 1939. They decorated the “fire tower” – as firemen called it – until it closed in 1988.
The pieces sat in darkness for years, until firefighters decided to rescue them.
Cincinnati Fire Department union President Matt Alter said the pieces – portraying firefighting methods used in Cincinnati between 1700 to 1939, such as four men operating a manual water pump in 1785 or horses pulling a fire engine in 1910 – must be preserved.
“It’s a really important reminder of (CFD) history – both in how far we have come and what traditions we still hold,” said Alter, who will lead the effort to remove them from the pump house at 1430 Martin Drive near the Krohn Conservatory, which is slated to become a beer brewing facility .
The pieces are bas-relief, said Lynne Ambrosini, chief curator at Cincinnati’s Taft Museum of Art.
The image was probably carved out of wood or linoleum block then filled in with plaster or a similar material to create the relief, said Jennifer Burt of the Wiebold Studio, an art restoration company in Terrace Park.
Fire officials believe they were completed by the end of the 1940s because they have dated photos that show them hanging on the walls.
“They’re well done,” Burt said. “Reliefs were a really good way for public places to be decorated with something sturdy and dependable.”
She said they were likely white or cream-colored, but age and dirt have turned them more of a yellowish-green color. In the 1939 panel the fire engine says “CFD,” so Burt believes they were made specifically for Cincinnati.
Alter’s plan is to put them on display at IAFF 48 union headquarters at 1011 W. Eighth St. in Queensgate for the enjoyment of union members, their families and the public. Alter said the murals will help celebrate the fire department’s 160th year in operation.
The first thought was to display them in Downtown’s Cincinnati Fire Museum, but there isn’t enough room. Half of the murals are 4-by-6-feet and the other half are 4-by-2-feet .
Architect Jack Martin is leading investors to redevelop the building into a brewing facility and taproom, at $5.2 million. “I’m glad the pieces will have a new home,” Martin said.