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Traverse City sculpture honors Bryan Crough

A new sculpture titled "Enspire" will be unveiled in Traverse City's Lay Park, Tuesday afternoon. The piece of art memorializes Bryan Crough, who was a longtime executive director of the Traverse City DDA.
Dan Wanschura

A new piece of public art will be unveiled in Traverse City Tuesday afternoon. The metal sculpture is over 14 feet high and is located in Lay Park.

Artist DeWitt Godfrey designed the sculpture. He says he hopes it’ll be a place of contemplation.

“What I hope is that people sort of appreciate the craft,” he says. “But then also in the way in which it frames the sky ... it reorients you to the world almost like a lens.”

The piece of art is titled "Enspire" and it commemorates Bryan Crough, who passed away in 2013.

Crough was a longtime executive director of the Traverse City Downtown Development Authority. He was also an advocate of public art.

“I can’t tell you that our downtown would be looking the way it is without his vision and without his leadership,” says Richard Lewis, a city commissioner who worked closely with Crough.

Back in the early 90’s, the Grand Traverse Mall opened, and some of the businesses downtown started relocating. That’s when the downtown area began floundering.

But Bryan Crough had a vision for Traverse City, and worked with a lot of different people to execute that vision. He also believed public art was an important way of creating community.

“It’s placemaking,” explains Lewis. "It ends up being a gathering spot for people to come and enjoy. But it’s all part of the community.”

The public unveiling of "Enspire" starts Tuesday afternoon just after noon, at Lay Park in Traverse City.

Dan Wanschura is the Host and Executive Producer of Points North.