Bull, Elk, Owl

When that great, shiny sculpture of a bull was first installed on the hospital side of Whipple near formerly Five Points, the editor of the Courier expressed nothing but disdain. That was back in the early 90s. Myself, I've been fond of the bull from the beginning. I think that editor was pining for one more heroic Salon Borglum western piece. Not to be.

Here's another of Prescott's critter sculpts, one with a much fancier pedigree than the bull. Named Bill, he dates from 1905 when the big Jerome mining company donated copper to the Prescott BPOE #330 to have the W. H. Mullins Art Metal Works Company of Salem, Ohio create a sculpture to top their new building. In 1971, the group moved out of the city and over to Prescott Valley, taking their prize elk with them. After much negotiation, the statue has been returned to his original post. A lot of restoration work was involved, as well. Day's Past reports that "Over the years, 'Bill' had been shot numerous times, had been painted silver, had received a large dent in his side, had nearly lost his antlers, which were still barely perched upon his head, had sprung numerous leaks and was generally in poor condition."

As for the owl, it sits atop another of the old downtown buildings. Probably made out of plastic. No doubt he claims some magical powers, such as scaring pigeons away. I've always been intrigued by those funny little faddish architectural add-ons. Down in Sun City one day, I noticed that every third house had an owl perched on the roof or TV antenna. Possible an owl salesman had passed that way. Maybe the son of the guy who used to canvass Chicago's ethnic neighborhoods, selling up-to-date doors with three little windows cascading down the top half.

Afternote: A few of my recent posts have been included in special blog round-ups that you might find of interest. My ghost cars made in into the Carnival of Cars ... the discussion of Prescott's media mix was one of the featured posts over at the Carnival of Cities ... while the sad tale of Max cat and the monster balloon was cited at both the weekly Carnival of Cats and the Carnival of Family Life. Each of these sites features a collection of links that sound very intriguing. Well worth a visit or two.