The Washington Glass Studio is in the process of creating a major outdoor sculpture to be situated in front of the refurbished Prince George's County Courthouse in Upper Marboro, MD.
The historic 1939 courthouse was destroyed by fire in 2004, with the building's bell tower sent crashing to the ground. In 2008, the restoration was complete of the courthouse interior, and the building committee selected the Washington Glass Studio (with artist Alonzo Davis) to design an outdoor sculpture to commemorate the restoration.
The concept was to refurbish the original bell tower structural frame and copper dome, infilling the openings with cast recycled glass. The interior of the cupola would feature a neon outline of the original bell, and the images cast glass would be images of the court and legal system. The concept and preliminaries have all been approved by the building committee. The structural steel work and restoration of the original copper has been completed, and the main component has been located on site in Upper Marboro. The cast glass should be started in the next month, with installation soon after. Progress shots will be updated on the blog.