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31 Sculptures: Amboy City Park

Dedicated to Preserving the History, Creativity,
and Ingenuity of Amboy, Illinois

By Chris Dunmire

Amboy, Illinois, USA — I am so inspired by the story behind Amboy's Green River City Park chainsaw-carved tree sculptures that I want to both share it and help preserve visually the beautiful transformation this small Midwestern town made with one creative idea after a violent storm destroyed dozens of mature oak trees and severely damaged 50-60 more in the town and park.

In preserving this artful transformation for the people of Amboy and for generations to come in our wondrous digital age, may this documentary project of words and images I named "31 Sculptures: Amboy City Park" be enjoyed for years by anyone in the world through this virtual connection.

Download the Free Guide to Tree Carvings »

Free Printable Self-Tour Guide Map

Tourists and locals alike may print my free souvenir self-tour guide map designed with approximate locations of the 31 chain-saw carved tree sculptures as they stood in the park during May 2011. Apologies in advance for any mistakes or omissions. It's also possible that more sculptures will be added (or subtracted) in time, increasing (or decreasing) the number from 31, so please consider this project as a snapshot in time.

Feel free to use the map to follow the photo tour in the slide show above (each carving is numbered and corresponds to a location on the map) or when walking or driving through the Amboy City park to see the artful carvings in person (carvings are also listed by number on the map).

Logistics

I began this project in April 2011 after reading the book "Amboy Illinois: First 150 Years 1854–2004", a news article and anecdote compilation by Amboy's 2004 Book Committee to celebrate the town's Sesquicentennial Celebration.

The "31 Pictures" project is meaningful to me, both as a creativity enthusiast and a long-time visitor (since 1975) to Amboy, Illinois. As a seasonal resident and Lee County tax payer, you can imagine the immense pride I have in the history of the City of Amboy, which I plan to write more on along with additional information about the City Park tree sculptures.

While gaining insight into the town's rich history (including the first Carson, Pierie, and Scott store), and experiencing its aging landmarks (such as the Amboy Depot Museum) destined to crumble in time, I became more aware of the vital importance of helping document this historical collection of outdoor wood sculptures protected from the elements only by a varnish sealer (peeling in some places) and overlaid concrete foundations. Time and elements will take their toll.

Newspaper archives, private photo collections, and first-hand experiences will also serve the documenting process for Amboy well. Thankfully, should the current wooden tree sculptures succumb to another violent act of nature, elemental break down, vandalism, or theft, the digital "31 Sculptures" exhibit will remain archived in Internet History for all to enjoy for years to come. •

Next: The Story Behind the Amboy City Park Sculptures »

© 2011 Chris Dunmire. All rights reserved.