An Even Better Sculpture Garden

Just in time for summer, the Salida SteamPlant sculpture garden is blossoming into one of the most beautiful outdoor spaces in Salida with a new natural stone retaining wall and seating area amid the botanical and sculptural décor.
 

A large flagstone area also expands the space of the sculpture garden, which is especially useful during events held on the SteamPlant Event Center’s outdoor plaza and adjacent annex and ballroom. The flagstone was donated by the Salida Council for the Arts Mel Strawn Memorial Fund.
 

Two new trees in the sculpture garden celebrate the memory of local artists Ted Fish and Mel Strawn. Friends of Ted Fish contributed one tree, and Colorado 350 donated the other tree to celebrate the life of Mel Strawn.
 

Mel’s wife, Bea Strawn, a local artist and SteamPlant board member for 12 years, was one of the original volunteers who began planting flowers and plants there in 1990, long before the SteamPlant’s grand opening as an events center in July 2008. Later the sculpture garden was officially named the Strawn-Grether Sculpture Garden, honoring Bea Strawn for her efforts to bring art into the public space and architect Bob Grether for his vision to repurpose Salida’s former steam plant into an events center.
 

“These improvements are a very nice finishing touch to the sculpture garden,” Strawn said. “They create a nice gathering spot, and they expand the garden’s usable space.”
 

During the COVID-19 pandemic that shut down public gatherings worldwide, the SteamPlant quietly celebrated the sculpture garden’s 25th anniversary in 2020 by initiating improvements led by SteamPlant employee Ben Strawn, who also worked as a volunteer to create the sculpture garden in the 1990s.
 

“The improvements made throughout the SteamPlant, inside and out, exemplify the significant work completed by our staff during the COVID-19 closure,” said Salida’s Director of Arts and Culture, Michael Varnum. “These improvements not only provided work for SteamPlant staff but saved the City money by not outsourcing the projects.”
 

The closure also gave staff time to work on renovations and make aesthetic, acoustic and technical improvements to the SteamPlant theater. “Our goal was to open back up to the community even better than we were before we had to close,” Varnum said.