North Side neighborhoods, Kalispel Tribe collaborate to bring gray heron sculpture to roundabout
Drivers heading toward Spokane from Mill or Waikiki roads on Monday were greeted by iron birds representing a frequent inhabitant of the waters nearby: grey herons.
Spokane County installed a roundabout at the North Side intersection in 2012, but the traffic and safety improvement didn’t include money to boost aesthetics.
In 2021, Rob Allen, who was serving as the president of the Fairwood Homeowners Association, decided it was time for the roundabout to have a decorative landscape.
Knowing he’d need some help getting neighbors interested in contributing to the cause, Allen reached out to Kelly McCann, the then-president of the Highland Hills Homeowners Association.
Together they envisioned “the gateway to north Spokane.”
“You’ve got the Kalispel golf course, Whitworth, Bozarth’s, Mead High School and so much more,” McCann said, referring to the Bozarth Mansion owned by Gonzaga University. “Other than Division Street, this is the road that takes you through most of north Spokane.”
McCann took on the role of project manager and began fundraising. Allen and McCann worked together with the Fairwood Farmers Market, where they spread word about the project.
“Everyone’s been really helpful and supportive,” McCann said. “There’s really a community around here, and I would even see people weeding the roundabout before we even got started with the project.”
A GoFundMe campaign for the project has accumulated over $30,000 in donations, McCann said. With contributions from Kalispel Golf and Country Club officials, who connected them with Kalispel Metal Products, the vision for the roundabout became more clear. Kalispel Metal Products is owned and operated by the Kalispel Tribe.
“Initially we wanted to surround this area with greenery, but when it comes down to it, it requires a lot of maintenance,” said McCann. “Maintenance that a volunteer group cannot do.”
Instead, McCann says he and Allen turned to Curtis Morin, a local landscape architect at Clearwater Summit Group. With the support of the Kalispel Tribe community, and the work of skilled welders at Kalispel Metal Products, they came up with the idea of portraying a frequently seen bird in Spokane, the grey heron.
“Being native to this area, I’ve always seen the grey heron flying around the Spokane River,” McCann said. “You see these things in flight, it’s like they’re taking you through the gateway to this other side of Spokane.”
After sitting down with Kalispel Metal Products’ managing director, McCann says he sketched some ideas related to nature in the area. When they landed on the idea of the grey heron and river reeds, Kalispel Metal Products worked with the idea, McCann said.
Monday morning, the Kalispel Metal Products group of welding artists and groundwork contributors completed another phase of the process. The first phase was completed in 2021, with the laying of gravel rock.
Now in the roundabout stands five basalt stone columns surrounded by metal art. On the north and south sides of the roundabout is a steel iron statue of the grey heron with a fish in its mouth, perched on a textured iron log. In the center of the circle is a spinning iron compass with a grey heron stemming from and flying above it. The water reeds surrounding the birds and basalt columns are also a part of the metal art.
“This is a big milestone, and we’re pretty happy about it,” McCann said. “We’ve had a lot of people driving around and slowing down to talk to us and encourage us. So, there’s a lot of people that are excited about it.”
The Kalispel Golf and Country Club has agreed to come out to spray and take care of the weeds and the rocks, McCann said. The property is insured by Spokane County.
McCann and Allen are not done yet, McCann said. The goal for the next installment to “Heron’s over Waikiki” is to add lights surrounding the rock columns and metal figures, McCann said.
“It’s something to look at,” McCann said about the addition of phase three on Monday. “It sure beats dirt.”