Park City is continuing to talk about one of the prominent physical legacies dating to the 2002 Winter Olympics, even as much of the attention has turned to the Games of 2034.
A City Hall panel known as the Park City Public Art Advisory Board on Monday evening addressed the future of a giant sculpture of a torch that dates to the earlier Games era. The artwork was moved from its original location along Main Street in the intervening decades and currently stands at the high-traffic intersection of Kearns Boulevard and Bonanza Drive.
The municipal government owns the land and envisions a major development on the site. Officials will eventually need to make decisions about the sculpture as the plans for the project advance.
Neither the Public Art Advisory Board nor municipal staffers seemed prepared to discuss details about the sculpture’s future at the meeting. It appeared, though, that there was a desire to restore the artwork even if the ultimate location of the piece is not known. There were also comments that the eventual spot depends on the development plans.
City Hall owns the sculpture. The longtime Park City artist Bill Kranstover created the piece shortly before the Games of 2002 with the drawings drafted by his daughter, Malia Denali. General Motors commissioned the sculpture, and it served as an anchor for the automaker’s presence along Main Street during the Games. General Motors wanted the artwork to be displayed for 90 days during the period around the Games.
Kranstover and Denali were in attendance on Monday. Kranstover, in an interview afterward, said the current location at the Kearns Boulevard-Bonanza Drive intersection is preferred even as he acknowledged the decision hinges on the development plans.
“It’s the best visibility, as far as I’m concerned. It’s a visual piece,” he said.
Paint touch-ups are needed, according to Kranstover.
The artist described the sculpture as representing Park City’s role during the Games of 2002.
“It is the beginning of the history of the Olympics” in Park City, he said.
The sculpture remains partially dismantled for repairs that have stretched since the spring.
Park City leaders earlier in the summer selected a firm for what is envisioned as an ambitious development on the municipal acreage. The project is expected to include a large bloc of income-restricted housing, neighborhood retailers and cultural offerings. Transit infrastructure and parking underground are also expected to be included.
The sculpture is one of the notable legacy pieces from the earlier Winter Olympic era, alongside other reminders such as the Olympic Welcome Plaza. The topic of Games legacies will likely be addressed over time, with the community remaining proud of the Park City role in 2002. The preparations for the Games of 2034 will also provide opportunities to discuss legacies.
The Park City area was crucial to the first Winter Olympics in the state and is expected to have a similar role in 2034. Park City Mountain, Deer Valley Resort and the Utah Olympic Park were competition venues in 2002 and are planned to be tapped again in 2034.