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. In October of that year, Five Points Washington kicked off a fundraiser called the 555 Campaign. 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 had raised nearly $300,000 and after a year 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 that had been done on the fitness rooms did sustain some damage which did delay 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 was serving 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 & 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. A sale of bricks and bluestones was added to the fundraiser to help get the project across the goal line. Bluestones were sold for $1,000 and bricks were sold for $250 or $500. Those bricks adorn the area called Washington Pride Plaza around the sculpture.

The sculpture was dedicated September 17, 2015. The piece represents “inspiring movement upwards,” according to the artist. The message of the piece speaks to both Washington’s resilience during the struggles of the tornado recovery, as well as its future. The sculpture was created out of sixteen different pieces of bronze and is surrounded by five columns and covered by 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 & Sharon Amdall and Five Points Washington, generations to come will be able to enjoy this symbol, representing a time in Washington’s history where we all united with one spirit and rose up together.