Portsmouth NH 400 Thanks Legacy Sculpture Team with Presentations
The DPW team gathered for the PNH400 “Endeavor” gift presentation (left to right): PNH400 Legacy Committee chair Ernie Greenslade, City Public Information Officer Stephanie Seacord, City Manager Karen Conard, DPW Director Peter Rice, Construction Project Manager Dave Desfosses, Parks & Greeneries Foreman Corin Hallowell, General Foreman Jim Dumont, General Foreman Jim Tow, PNH400 Managing Director Valerie Rochon.
Portsmouth, New Hampshire – The Portsmouth NH 400 Legacy Committee completed one of its most visible and most dramatic projects in December: the installation of artist Sijia Chen’s stainless steel sculpture, “Endeavor” in the newly-established sculpture garden in the Bohenko Gateway Park in Portsmouth NH.
To thank the donors and members of the PNH400 Board and Executive Committee, the PNH400 Legacy Committee, Art Review Committee and City of Portsmouth Department of Public Works who installed the 3-ton sculpture with engineering assistance from Alex Ross and Ross Engineering, LLC, PNH400 commissioned a commemorative desk piece with sculptor Sijia Chen’s approval and crafted by Crown Trophy of Portsmouth. Those keepsakes, acrylic blocks containing a 3-D image of “Endeavor,” were recently delivered to the project participants.
The DPW team gathered for the PNH400 “Endeavor” gift presentation (left to right): PNH400 Legacy Committee chair Ernie Greenslade, City Public Information Officer Stephanie Seacord, City Manager Karen Conard, DPW Director Peter Rice, Construction Project Manager Dave Desfosses, Parks & Greeneries Foreman Corin Hallowell, General Foreman Jim Dumont, General Foreman Jim Tow, PNH400 Managing Director Valerie Rochon.
In making the presentation, Ernie Greenslade said, “When we launched the Portsmouth NH 400 Legacy sculpture initiative, we had no idea of the challenges involved in selecting the location and preparing the site for the installation. We are eternally grateful to the DPW team and engineering consultant Alex Ross for guiding us through the process. Endeavor is now a beautiful, permanent and highly visible addition to the Portsmouth waterfront and the Market Street gateway to the city.”
The sculpture is located in the Park, adjacent to Market Street Extension where it is visible to all entering Portsmouth from the Market Street or Sarah Mildred Long Bridge gateways.
“Endeavor” is a 24-foot tall steel sculpture created by Sijia Chen, the winner of the Legacy Project Sculpture design contest, selected from among more than 30 artists from around the world. Ms. Chen conducted a series of live and virtual visioning sessions to collect residents’ ideas for the iconography to be included in the papercut designs in the final sculpture. The images all connect to Portsmouth’s maritime history, from an Indigenous Peoples’ canoe to a clipper ship to the Albacore submarine. Educational signage at the site will explain the themes and their historical context. For a look at how the themes are incorporated in the design, go to: https://portsnh.co/Endeavor
