At Riverfront Park, the world is falling apart. East of Oceania, tiles have fallen to the ground to reveal waterlogged concrete. A chunk of the Amazon Rainforest has disappeared.
The mosaic Eco-Earth Globe sculpture at the heart of the park has seen better days. Starting as a former industrial storage tank, thousands of volunteer hours and over 86,000 tiles brought it to life for an unveiling at the 2003 World Beat Festival.
The elements wore on the globe since, and in 2020 the city assessed the damage and found that repairs would cost around $400,000. The city budgeted $112,000 from lodging tax revenue to the cause and in 2021 the Salem Parks Foundation began coordinating a community fundraising effort to make up the difference.
As of January 2024, they’ve raised $69,000, leaving them halfway to their goal.
“The state of the globe right now is still pretty bad, it keeps deteriorating. And the state of our fundraising effort is – it’s going slower than we expected,” said Carol Snyder, president of the Salem Parks Foundation.
They originally thought it would take two years to raise the funds.
“We probably should have known better. I mean, there’s a lot of serious issues in Salem right now, and I think people are tending to donate for more basic needs and I can understand that,” Snyder said.
She said a bill coming to the legislature, which would use the Cultural Resource Economic Fund to fund 14 cultural projects statewide, would give the project up to $150,000. She said the bill was introduced last session, but didn’t pass because of a shortened session due to the walkout.
Receiving state help would put them much closer to their goal, and they’re also planning to apply to smaller grants this year.
The money would pay for a professional restorationist who would fix the tiles with better adhesive and sealant. She said Mary Heintzman, a teacher at Blanchet Catholic School and the original art director, is working with local artists to redo some of the icons and historic markers on the globe.
Another estimate found that due to the lead and asbestos in the globe, demolishing it would have an even higher price tag of $680,000, according to the Salem Parks Foundation.
Snyder especially loves a sea turtle on the globe, the birds that fly on it and the celebrations of history and culture.
“It was gifted to the city, these people put it together and that was all volunteers,” she said. “It was given as a symbol of cultural diversity, ecological awareness and world peace.”
She said donations are still coming in, and they’re slowly making their way to the goal. The foundation has also started approaching Salem businesses.
To donate, see the Salem Parks Foundation website or send a check to the Salem Parks Foundation at P.O. Box 5764 Salem, OR 97304. Specify that the donation is for the Eco-Earth project, rather than the foundation’s general fund for parks projects.
Contact reporter Abbey McDonald: [email protected] or 503-575-1251.
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Abbey McDonald joined the Salem Reporter in 2022. She previously worked as the business reporter at The Astorian, where she covered labor issues, health care and social services. A University of Oregon grad, she has also reported for the Malheur Enterprise, The News-Review and Willamette Week.
