Artist Rendering:
Golden Connections Sculpture
Ashland Gallery Guide 33
standing, site-specific artwork, within
Ashland’s Historic Railroad District.
The RFQ specified the artwork be
visually stimulating, perhaps whimsical
and colorful, and responsive to the site
in terms of scale, material, and form;
and reflect the historic significance of
the Ashland Railroad District.
Ashland has a rich and diverse history
not easily discernible on the landscape.
The MAP project is best described
as a historic marker and way finding
project to provide a connection
to the history of today’s
landscape. The project
is intended to create
a sense of place and
pride by establishing
distinctive landmarks
within the City’s
Registered Historic
Districts and will serve
to promote historic and
heritage tourism in the
City. In addition, a plaque
will describe the importance of
the project to the historic district.
Physically the sculpture is described as
a “large golden spike which penetrates
a 9.5 foot diameter circle made from
steel I beam. The topside of the
circle becomes a winding train track,
signifying the topsy-turvy journey over
the Siskiyou Mountains that stand
between Oregon and California.”
The artists’ introduction in their
submission wrote, “…the sculpture
merges a trio of powerful symbols
to tell the story of how the railroad
spurred a huge transformation in
Ashland when Southern Pacific
chose the town as a main stop on their
Portland-San Francisco line as well
as a full-service maintenance yard.
The symbols come together in a fun
way that creates a clean,
contemporary artwork
that boldly welcomes
people to Railroad
Park while framing
the beautiful
mountainous
landscape behind
it. The artwork
becomes a canvas
for storytelling
vignettes that give the
viewer insight into the
important history that surrounds
them at that very location.”
The artists’ submission narrative
explains each of the elements of
the proposed design. They wrote,
“…the spike becomes a canvas
for short textual phrases that help
paint a picture of Ashland during
the days when the railroad was in
full operation.” And, “…a gigantic
railroad spike becomes a focal point
for the sculpture. It honors Ashland’s
distinction as the final connection
(in 1887) for the S&P’s complete rail
service around the nation. But this
spike does more than call attention
to this major national event; it also
symbolizes the local significance of
Ashland’s growth and evolution as
a town and community as the train
service was established. Its gold
color alludes to this golden period for
Ashland and the Railroad District as
population, commerce and culture
expanded. The spike can also be
viewed as a pin on a map. Because
Ashland was a rest stop for train
passengers, more and more people
came through, stopped to stretch their
legs, eat lunch, buy snacks, and get
a taste of Lithia water. People from
other places got to know Ashland. The
railroad put Ashland on the map, so
to speak! The ‘pin’ lands in the middle
of the circular frame, right in between
its larger, well-known neighbors of
Portland and San Francisco.”
The North side of the spike contains
a long overdue offering of gratitude
to the Chinese laborers who worked
under difficult conditions to build
these tracks despite discrimination and
without recognition. Seven Chinese
calligraphy characters translate to
English as “Today, with regret, we offer
our belated gratitude.” The artists
collaborated with Meiwen Richards of
Ashland on the wording on the spike,
as well as Dr. Jiyu Yang, a Portlandbased
Chinese scholar and artist, who
created the calligraphy.
In March of 2021 the PAC reviewed
submissions for the project in conformance
with City guidelines and
confirmed that all three finalists’
submissions would be appropriate. A
selection panel was formed. The panel
selected the proposal by Jennifer Corio
and Dave Frei of Cobalt Designworks.
The sculpture adds significantly to
Ashland’s more than forty-nine public
art pieces. A complete list of public art
can be found on the City website. One
PAC Commissioner noted the importance
of public art to the culture and
allure of Ashland and said, “The entire
City of Ashland is a gallery of public art
works for citizens and tourists alike.” ♦
Above: Medallion example
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Designworks Studio