The sculpture is called “Someday.” A jaunty, childlike character in an aviator cap and goggles looks ready to launch a paper airplane.
With a sidewalk perch on the southeast corner of Rucker and Hewitt avenues, the 12-foot-high piece is a recent addition to downtown Everett’s diverse collection of street art.
I’ve been driving south on Rucker past the whimsical figure every work day since “Someday” was installed in October. I am wholly unqualified as an art critic, but I like what I like. And “Someday” is wonderfully likeable.
At the same time, I’ve had fleeting thoughts about the reason the aviation-themed figure is where it is — on the public sidewalk outside the new Aero Apartments.
Skotdal Real Estate’s new 102-unit apartment complex also has an aviation theme. The entryway features an artistic rendering of a vertical stabilizer, part of an airplane tail. The blue-gray building has metallic exterior finishes. In the lobby is a photo mural featuring vintage aircraft.
The “Someday” sculpture, commissioned by Skotdal Real Estate and fabricated by Dillon Works, nicely fits the Aero style. Is it also, perhaps, subtle advertising for the luxury apartment building?
I asked Carol Thomas, Everett’s cultural arts manager. “We love the airplane sculpture,” said Thomas, adding that “Someday” is the third major piece of public art installed downtown by Everett-based Skotdal Real Estate.
The others are the huge books near the Everett Public Library and the Library Place apartments and the giant pencils on the corner of Hoyt Avenue and California Street. Like “Someday,” they were created by Dillon Works Inc. of Mukilteo. The row of books, meant to look like leather-bound classics, hide an electrical transformer box.
Thomas sees the paper-airplane flier not as apartment ad, but as an affirmation of Everett’s aviation history and achievements.
“It’s hard to think about Everett without thinking about Boeing — from the very early days to creating something so amazing as our Boeing jets that go all over the world,” she said.
Craig Skotdal, president of Skotdal Real Estate, said the sculpture and the apartment building style are certainly a nod to Everett’s aviation legacy. “One of our goals is to tell the story of Everett — building some of the best planes in the world,” he said Friday. “We’ve had a ton of positive feedback from people in the community who appreciate the art piece and its relationship to aviation in our community.”
Aero Apartments, with monthly rents of $1,300 to $1,950, are 70 percent leased, Skotdal said.
Angela Lasof, Dillon Works sales and marketing coordinator, said “Someday” was created through a collaborative effort between the Mukilteo company and Skotdal Real Estate.
“After providing us with the one-word theme of ‘Lift,’ we developed an original sculpture of a child in aviator glasses and scarf, tossing a paper airplane,” Lasof said.
Inside Library Place, also a Skotdal development, are artistic tributes to founding members of the Woman’s Book Club that in 1894 started Everett’s first library, and also to “Pegasus,” a Ford Model A that was the library’s first bookmobile.
Placing “Someday” on the public sidewalk wasn’t unusual for a downtown art piece, but it did require action by the city.
Ryan Sass, Everett’s city engineer, said that when a request is made by the city’s Arts &Culture department, his Transportation Engineering department reviews it.
The review makes sure the artwork won’t cause an obstruction or violate Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.
Installation of “Someday” required a right-of-way use permit, Sass said.
Changes along Rucker Avenue downtown are part of the city’s long-term streetscape plan to make downtown, which is now seeing more residential development, more vibrant and pedestrian-friendly.
Eventually, he said, much of the northbound traffic coming downtown from seven-lane Evergreen Way will be routed from Rucker Avenue west on Pacific Avenue to West Marine View Drive, which connects to Highway 529.
Thomas said Everett is blessed with public art from a variety of sources. Some is purchased by the city through its 1 percent for the arts ordinance, some is leased on a rotating basis, and some comes from private donors.
Asked about the Skotdal contributions — the pencils, giant books and the paper-airplane sculpture — she said “quite frankly, I found them delightful.”
Everett has many examples of street art in keeping with nearby buildings. Artist Kevin Pettelle’s bronze sculpture of the late dance teacher Mike Jordan graces the sidewalk outside the Everett Performing Arts Center. Ed and Betty Morrow, Jordan’s longtime friends, helped raise $50,000 to commission the piece.
And “Hide and Seek,” sculptor Hai Ying Wu’s bronze grandfather, kids and dog outside the Imagine Children’s Museum, was commissioned by an anonymous donor. The statues are owned by the museum.
Skotdal did not disclose the price of “Someday,” but it’s clearly a big investment.
“If we didn’t have people in our public making such tremendous contributions, we would have a lot less art,” Thomas said. “Whenever someone makes a donation, it’s a beautiful gift to the city.”
Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460; jmuhlstein@heraldnet.com.
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