History & Preservation

HISTORY & PRESERVATION
Tommy Reddicks

The art installation "History & Preservation" comes from the vision of Tommy Reddicks, Executive Director at Paramount School of Excellence. With a nod to the connective thread of history and preservation in NESCO, "History & Preservation" tells the story of a historic reclamation and the preservation of a wildlife habitat, while connecting to the Near Eastside Quality of Life Plan and the TURN Movement (Transforming Urban Neighborhoods).

The two reclaimed structures now serve as the iconic home for the threatened Chimney Swift bird, pictured streaming out in lines in Reddicks' initial sketch (left). The structures (now called chimneys) are 100-year old reclaimed manhole access tunnels from the corner of Washington and Emerson on NESCO's far East side (locations mapped below-left).

These brick housings were brought to the community's attention via Tracy Heaton de Martinez and Tina Jones, following their unearthing by Citizens Energy Group.

From the initial email on June 3, 2015:
  "I wanted to share with you a quick field trip I had
     yesterday with one of our near eastside history/trail
     experts, Tina Jones.

  She showed me two brick sewers
     (manhole access?) that have been excavated recently for
     work on the CSO's...Help...ideas? These are just too cool
     for a landfill." -Tracy Heaton de Martinez

After a whirlwind of emails, the two structures (one of them pictured below) were accepted by Paramount School of Excellence. Citizens Energy Group agreed to transport the structures to their new home (transportation video linked here) while offering no guarantee that they would survive the journey. But, survive they did! Following their drop off, Keystone Construction assisted Tommy in erecting the "chimneys" in their permanent home.

Bomar Industries provided Tommy with help laser cutting, bending, and welding as the project came to it's final form in June 2016.

THE INSTALLATION PROCESS

Step One: Reclamation

The structures (locations shown above) were pulled from the ground by Citizens Energy Group in 2015.

Step Two: Prep

Twin pads were developed into the Paramount School hillside along Brookside Parkway South Drive.

Step Three: Installation

Following the installation into the Paramount hillside, Tommy Reddicks displays the depth and character of the larger chimney structure from the inside.

Photo Gallery