Five Points Sculpture

The sculpture is a beautiful tribute to the community.  Called “Community Spirit” and created by artist Charles Strain, taken in context, it communicates a stirring message that speaks of the past and the future and is quite moving, especially to those who experienced the deadly tornado that ripped through Washington on November 17, 2013.

The complete story of the sculpture actually pre-dates the tornado a bit, going back to the fall of 2012.  Five Points Washington kicked off a fundraiser called the 555 Campaign in October of that year.  The goal of the fundraiser was to raise $800,000 for two projects: the construction of fitness rooms on the north side of the building and a renovation of the south side entrance.

Within the first month of the fundraiser, the center raised nearly $300,000, and after a year, it was close to $500,000. A groundbreaking for the fitness rooms was held in September 2013, and work commenced.

Eight weeks later, Washington was ravaged by an F4 tornado. The work on the fitness rooms sustained some damage, which delayed the construction, but by April of the next year, the rooms were ready to be opened for classes. Attention now was to be turned to the south entrance.

With a community still trying to recover from the shock of being ripped apart, renovating the south entrance of Five Points was not really the first thing on everyone’s minds. During the tornado recovery, Five Points served the community with hallways full of supplies and as a meeting place. Officials waited a year before pursuing anything regarding the south entrance.

In December 2014, it was announced that residents John and Sharon Amdall, tornado victims themselves, were offering to donate a commissioned sculpture to be part of the south entrance renovation as a tribute to the city’s recovery. Along with the sculpture would come a new entrance and ticket office, as well as some improvements to the already-existing banquet rooms.

The 555 Campaign was restarted to help fund these renovations. To help get the project across the goal line, a sale of bricks and bluestones was added to the fundraiser. Bluestones were sold for $1,000, and bricks were sold for $250 or $500. Those bricks adorn the area around the sculpture called Washington Pride Plaza.

The sculpture was dedicated on September 17, 2015. According to the artist, it represents “inspiring movement upwards. " The message speaks to Washington’s resilience during the struggles of the tornado recovery and its future. The sculpture was created out of sixteen different pieces of bronze, surrounded by five columns and covered by a decorative tarp. 

This public piece of art in Washington may not be noticed by some, but it represents the donors’ recognition of our community’s spirit. Thanks to the generosity of John and Sharon Amdall and Five Points Washington, generations to come will be able to enjoy this symbol, representing a time in Washington’s history when we all united with one spirit and rose up together.