Seafarer's Memorial
by Robert Bales
Title
Seafarer's Memorial
Artist
Robert Bales
Medium
Photograph - Photo
Description
Located on the Homer Spit the Seafarer's memorial serves as a final resting place for those lost at sea and is dedicated to them, past, present, and future. The memorial is a place for friends and family to visit to mourn and remember their lost loved ones.
To be part of the memorial, bricks may be purchased, personally inscribed, and laid as permanent fixtures within the path at the entrance to the memorial. Donations and funds raised by the memorial are given to the families of those lost at sea, as well as used for memorial maintenance costs.
The memorial, which originated in the early 1990s with the North Pacific Fisheries Association, was constructed with monies from a state grant, fundraisers and a plethora of materials, supplies, equipment, time and labor donated by virtually the entire community.
Mark Degraffenried designed the sculpture while the design of the memorial structure evolved over time with input from artists and others working on the project. The monument stands 15 feet tall and 20 feet wide. The six-sided concrete pillared structure encloses a seven-foot tall statue of a rugged mariner, preparing to throw his dock line. He is protected by a three-tiered copper-shingled dome. The site is graced with flower beds and a picnic area, and accented by a separate brass bell that Scalzi found in Philadelphia.
A free-standing pedestal seaward of the memorial bears a bronze plaque with a poetic tribute to the power of the ocean, written by Ryan Bundy in 1996. "The sea tells a story. It tells of the life it brings and the lives it claims. Its deep dark waters are home to some, a final resting place to others. The sea tells a story. It tells of the cycle of life running through its waters. Fish spawning, dying, sinking to the ocean floor, returning to the circle that engulfs all life. The sea tells a story. It tells of prosperity, yet how the prosperity can be unforgiving. Nearly everyone will experience its vastness, but some will remain there forever."
Uploaded
January 11th, 2020
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