The unhappiness of the many Berwynites
Yesterday morning I went over to Cermak Plaza to get one last look at Spindle, the giant car-kebab sculpture of Wayne's World fame. It's scheduled to be torn down later this month because the shopping center is being redeveloped. It's still unclear whether the sculpture will be scrapped or moved down the street -- at a cost of $350,000.
You can read more about Spindle at Wikipedia. There's no entry about Dustin Shuler (the scupltor), but this page gives a sense of what his work is like, and I also took this photo of an informational plaque at the base of the sculpture itself. You can read more about the controversy here and here, and there are pictures from Critical Mass's recent Save the Spindle event here.
It's too bad there isn't any kind of comprehensive resource about Cermak Plaza -- which is home to a lot more public art than just Spindle -- but most of the story is here. It turns out this isn't the first controversy surrounding a sculpture there.
What are those taxis doing lurking around the sculpture at dawn?
Good question, I was wondering that myself. I should have asked them. It would be a very recognizable meeting place, but not for fares, who would be on foot (it's right in the center of a very large parking lot).
Since I grew up in Berwyn and thus grew up with the Cermak Plaza's artwork, I can say soundly that I'm sad to see the Spindle go.
Topinka's arguments against it - which are eerily similar to those she waged against Big Bil-Bored - are rather hollow. Berwyn isn't quite a city on the mend; it's a city teetering towards decline. Just a few blocks east of the Plaza sits the vacant, decaying "Superblock" that was going to revitalize the suburb. Then there's New Century Station, a huge condo project that's still on hold.
Topinka wants Berwyn to be recognized for things other than Spindle. That's all well and good, but Berwyn's gotta do something to upstage it. Not having enormous vacant lots and vacant storefronts would be a start.
And I think Spindle really should stay. It needs to be restored, for sure. But it's something that Berwyn could rally around and use as a starting point to promote other art in its town. Instead, it'll go and one more thing that makes Berwyn unique will be gone, too.
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