What’s in the Roundabout?

If you’ve driven by the Roundabout, you may be wondering what is going on. It will be a pillar, based on Southwood Park’s Indiana Avenue Entrance Pillars from 1917.

The pillar will be atop the large concrete structure in the center. It will be 3 feet above a ring of landscaping. The landscaping ring will be 1 foot above a concrete apron designed to handle the trucks that make their way down Old Mill Road. Concrete work will take place over the next week and half to two weeks, weather and contingencies permitting. The landscaping will be in the ground this fall to allow for healthy roots next growing season.

The bulk of the pillar will be completed this fall. Pillar lighting will be installed next year. The Indiana limestone for the decorative cap are being quarried this fall. And the most exciting part… Fort Wayne artist Cary Shafer has been hired by the City of Fort Wayne Right-of-Way Department to carve the decorative parts for the column! If you know Mr. Shafer’s work, you may already know that his work is part of the National Cathedral in Washington, DC and he has completed pieces for the White House, among a long list of other commissions. We are honored that he will be working on this centerpiece of our beautiful neighborhood. Check out https://www.caryshafer.com/ for more information about the artist.

We want to give big thanks to Nick Jerrell of the Right-of-Way Department for devising this improvement to the Roundabout. Thank you to City Council and the Mayor for finding the way to fund improvements to this city infrastructure.

To make all this happen, the Roundabout will be closed to traffic for a week and a half to two weeks. This will allow all the work to happen in one phase. Detours will be posted. Neighbors who live next to the intersection will still be able to reach their homes, and might enjoy a respite from the traffic.

— Steve McCord