Local artist will garnish downtown with three bronze sculptures
to conveys city’s history
Gilroy – People no longer spend two days in an ox cart heading up to San Jose, but one local artist plans to revive the good ol’ days with three sculptures that highlight Gilroy’s historic past.
Not only will the estimated 36-inch tall bronze pieces enliven residents’ sense of history, but their locations at three downtown street corners are part of the City Council’s larger efforts to revitalize downtown, and the body said as much Oct. 1 when it unanimously approved Marlene Amerian’s penciled designs that represent three themes: transportation, commerce and hospitality.
“I poured my heart and soul into these pieces,” Amerian told the council. “They will engage people into the history of Gilroy.”
Part of this history begins with recognizing Gilroy’s linchpin role in traveling up and down what is now U.S. 101.
James Houck of Ohio facilitated the journey to and from Gilroy by establishing a stage shop at the corner of Lewis and Monterey Streets in 1850. Amerian’s sculpture, “Ready to Roll,” will stand at the west side corner of Fourth and Monterey Streets, across the road from Houck’s old shop.
It depicts a tireless Houck harnessing his horse, with his hat pulled down. His flowing coat naturally conveys the sculpture’s theme of movement.
Community Services Director Susan Andrade-Wax walked around the council chambers showing the councilmen Amerian’s rendering as the artist explained each drawing and the men nodded their heads.
From Houck’s shop, Gilroy grew south and north along Monterey Street, with doctors’ offices, canneries, garlic processing plants, stables, hotels and saloons.
Then came the bank of Gilroy in 1871, near the northeast corner of Monterey and Martin Streets, where Amerian’s second sculpture will sit.
Electa Ousley was one of the first land owners in the westward movement, and she single-handedly raised 11 children after her husband died in a terrible farm accident, Amerian said.
Her sculpture shows local banker Thomas Rey shaking hands with Ousley. Both figures seem to be moving forward in their frozen movements, each sliding forward for a sturdy handshake: an international symbol of business.
Then there is hospitality, the only sculpture that features a single figure: John Gilroy.
The eponymous first mayor of Gilroy predated the first bank or Houck’s stage stop, and Amerian and city officials said his gregarious nature cannot be ignored and will be well observed at the northeast corner of Sixth and Monterey Streets.
“Widely known for his hospitality and friendliness, John Gilroy was said to have welcomed neighbors and strangers alike,” wrote Recreation Manager Maria De Leon and Cultural Arts Supervisor Catherine Mirelez.
As a towel maker with a “flaring panache,” Amerian said her sculpture conveys the man’s ranch life and his cheerful demeanor.
The Public Art Committee and the Arts & Cultural Commission approved Amerian’s drawings in August after the PAC devoted a year researching and identifying historic personages, according to Karen LaCorte, chair of the ACC.
“It is time for public art in Gilroy,” wrote PAC Chair Shirley Willard to Mayor Al Pinheiro before the Oct. 1 meeting.
Now that Amerian has received council approval, she has begun work on the actual sculptures, but an exact time-frame remains unknown. City officials have estimated about two years in the past, but Amerian could not be reached for comment Monday.
She began sculpting, though, in 1985 after earning a reputation as a diligent painter, according to a brief biography submitted to the council. As for her sculptural accolades, the Center of Polish Sculpture commissioned her work in 1990, and she designed the bronze family of three waiting for a train in downtown Morgan Hill.
Gilroy’s bronze triumvirate will cost $75,000, with $15,000 from the city, $10,000 from the Gilroy Downtown Association and $2,000 from the Wal-Mart Foundation. The PAC is providing the remaining $48,000.
Chris Bone covers City Hall for The Dispatch. Reach him at 847-7109 or cb***@************ch.com.
