Brass Bowl

Most everybody knows this sculpture as the Giant Slinky, but the real name of the piece is the Wave.  It was created by Mary Ann Unger and emplaced on Bayshore Blvd in 1989. 

Mary Ann Unger studied with George Sugarman (Exploding Chicken) at Columbia University, where she recieved a Masters Degree in Fine Arts.  Ms. Unger’s artwork is in the collections of the Hirschhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, the Brooklyn Museum of Art and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.  Ms. Unger passed away in 1999 after battling breast cancer for 13 years.  She was 53.

I don’t know how, or why. I looked online, but didn’t see a story. But this really sticks out when you are walking downtown. Let’s face it. Tampa (downtown) isn’t that big. Maybe ten by ten blocks, give or take. A building missing a window is kind of easy to notice. (kicker at the end of post)

In any event, the thing that struck me was that this building does not have a local name. Most buildings have a name, like Rivergate Tower, or Park Tower, or Bank of America, or Wachovia (WalkOverYa) Center, etc. But I could not find a name for this one. I know it is owned by the Catholic Church, or a portion or subsidy thereof. But even Emporis does not give a moniker to this one. So if you know what this is called other than Morgan Street Garage, please share it with us.

As usual when you see the dotted line underneath the picture, click on it to see a larger image.

Thanks to Barnacle Bill for pointing this out to me while I was focused on a crane.

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Years of Conflict

Throughout its existence, Fort Brook retained its prominence in the U.S. military’s offensive operations in Florida.  Below present-day Whiting St., there were horse sheds, a bake house, a carpenter’s shop, a Quartermaster’s store, a “pen” for Indian prisoners, a hospital, & a cemetery.  Nine overall commanders would take the field in Florida, & most of them would visit the fort at one time or another.  Among them were Gen., later President, Zachary Taylor, Gen. Thos. S. Jesup, & Lt. Col. William Harney.  Solders of all ranks, from privates to generals, would gain military experience here that would propel them to advancement in their nation’s later 19th century wars: the Mexican War, the Civil War, & the U.S wars against the western Plains Indians.  The Fort Brooke reservation, 4 miles square, reached the zenith of its occupation in late 1837, when 65 officers & 1596 enlisted men were in garrison.  Over the last year, 450 Indians had been gathered at the fort, awaiting transport to the West.  Others continued to come in or be captured.  On June 2, 1837, Osceola & Abraka & a war party of about 200, released the prisoners.   Gen. Jesup was disheartened.  “This campaign, so far as relates to Indian migration,” he wrote, “has entirely failed.”  In Oct. 1837, a number of Indian war leaders were captured, & the fort’s garrison was reduced, even as the war dragged on for another five years.  The U.S. withdrew from Florida in 1842, ending the 2nd Seminole War, & Congress pased the Armed Occupation Act, encouraging white settlement of the Florida frontier.

It happens from time to time.   Plans don’t work out, or they are based in error.  Such was our day.  We went to the Convention Center, leaving our chairs behind.  TBO stated there would be seating provided.  We get there, nothing.  So we pick a spot to try to watch it.  We get crowded out by less than polite, less than sober people.  Between the columns, the palm trees and the people, we simply could not see much of anything.    We left early, tired and not in the best of humor.  None of the pictures I took are worth posting.

And it is my fault.  I did not do a good job of research or review of the best viewing area.  (shrug)  Some days are like that.  You can’t have great days every day.

Unless you are a cat.  Here’s to you, Tinkerbell.