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The property it sits on was sold late last year and there are (maybe)plans to build apartments where it sits. No clue where it may be headed but perhaps it could be part of the new Finlay part renovations.
Maybe they'll put at the corner of Taylor and Bull. The empty lot across the street where the apartments are going or Gervais and Assembly.
Maybe they'll put at the corner of Taylor and Bull. The empty lot across the street where the apartments are going or Gervais and Assembly.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BrandonCoombes
Wasn’t Irmo interested in purchasing it at one point?
From a 2016 article
After literally years of behind the scenes and public discussion about possibly moving Busted Plug, the issue took a seemingly unforeseen turn on Sept. 6, when Irmo Town Council had a public discussion about the possibility of moving the sculpture to that town 12 miles from Columbia.
Irmo Mayor Hardy King told Free Times he has been a fan of Blue Sky’s artwork for quite a while, particularly his Tunnelvision mural.
King says he has taken note of the continued discussions through the years about moving Busted Plug, and says he even heard rumors the sculpture might be torn down.
“So I thought, well, if they are going to let it be torn down, maybe it’s something we need to look at,” King says.
Reported estimates for moving the massive sculpture out to Irmo have run up to $200,000. King says he thought the moving costs — which he says could come in lower than $200,000 — could be paid for with hotel taxes, because he thought it could be a tourist draw for the town of nearly 12,000.
“It might go along with some other things we are doing, then maybe that will help generate something year-round that people can get off the interstate and see,” King says. “They’ll get off and stop and go eat and go look at the thing.”
King even has at least one location he believes could be a good spot for the giant hydrant, in a grassy expanse at the corner of Lake Murray Boulevard and Irmo Drive.
However, other members of Irmo Town Council weren’t as enthused about the possibility of Busted Plug heading to their small town. The Council ultimately voted against doing a deeper investigation into how much it would cost to move the sculpture.
“We don’t want it,” said Irmo Council member and frequent King rival Barry Walker.
Sky had been heartened by conversations he had with King about the possibility that his creation could be moved to Irmo and re-established as a working fountain. However, when Free Times informed him of the Irmo Council’s vote against exploring the moving costs for Busted Plug, the artist had some sharp words.
“I’ve got something I want you to quote to the Irmo City Council: F#!k you.”
And an article from today confirming its being moved to a storage site until they find a permanent place for it.
COLUMBIA — Busted Plug, the 40-foot-tall shiny metal fire hydrant sculpture that has become a Columba landmark over a generation, is moving.
The modern sculpture will go into storage as the city searches for a new home.
First unveiled in 2001, Busted Plug has stood askew on a privately owned parking lot along Taylor Street near downtown. AgFirst Farm Credit Bank commissioned Columbia artist Blue Sky to build the sculpture outside the nearly century-old, National Register of Historic Places-listed building.
When the bank announced in 2012 it would move its operations from Taylor Street to Main Street, it donated the sculpture to the city along with $25,000 to relocate it. City leaders have talked off and on for the past decade about moving the sculpture that has become a roadside attraction.
But after real estate investment company Xsite Capital Investment bought what’s now an apartment building in April, the need to move the four-story-tall hydrant became more immediate. Xsite Capital asked the city to move the sculpture, Columbia Mayor Daniel Rickenmann said. The investment company did not respond to a request for comment Feb. 19.
Within the next two weeks, Rusty McClam, president of contracting company McClam & Associates, said he expects the sculpture to move from Taylor Street to a piece of his company’s property off Interstate 20, where it will stay until the city finds somewhere else to put it.
“We’ve put a lot of fire hydrants in, but never one like this,” McClam said.
McClam volunteered his property to store the sculpture because it’s so iconic to Columbia, he said.
“I told (the city) I’d take it and make sure it got put back up somewhere,” McClam said. “Because it has been around Columbia for a long time.”
The Boyd Foundation — a Columbia nonprofit that has sponsored a number of major projects, including a plaza in front of the Columbia Museum of Art — offered to cover the cost of relocation, which totaled somewhere around $40,000, said George Bailey, president of the foundation’s board of directors.
The city declined, Bailey said, insisting it already had money dedicated to moving the 675,000-pound art piece. Rickenmann told The Post and Courier that the city received a donation to cover the cost of moving and storing the sculpture.
Caution tape surrounded the sculpture Feb. 19, replacing its usual silver chain-link fence.
The fence sat in rolls behind the sculpture, next to piles of the lights that had anchored it. Two unmoving construction vehicles sat parked beside the hydrant, paused in the midst of digging a hole near its base.
The plan is to keep the sculpture in one piece while moving and storing it, McClam said.
Sky, the artist behind Busted Plug and the nearby “Tunnel Vision” mural, posted about the relocation Feb. 18 on his Facebook page. He told more than 100 commenters city officials had said they planned to relocate the sculpture but had not told him where.
He said in an interview Feb. 19 that he was frustrated the company asked to move the sculpture, which he said was specific to the site where it was built.
“They knew when they bought the property it was there,” Sky said.
Busted Plug (copy)
Artist Blue Sky stands in front of the Busted Plug sculpture in 2016. File
He also worried about whether the city actually would follow through on its long-standing promise to find a new home for the sculpture and instead leave it in storage out of public view.
“We had this conversation years and years ago,” Sky said.
While nothing is determined yet, Bailey said he’d like to see the giant hydrant moved to the Congaree River in the city’s to-be-developed riverfront park. The Boyd Foundation hopes to have a hand in the park’s creation, which hinges on the city connecting either side of Williams Street along the river in the next few years.
The Busted Plug also is a fountain, though the water hasn’t run in years. At different points, different city officials previously said there either wasn’t enough space, the water feature was too expensive to operate or the pump was broken.
At one point, city officials flirted with the idea of moving the hydrant to Finlay Park, Columbia’s main city park. Yet Rickenmann said that was not an option the city was considering anymore despite a planned major $21.5 million overhaul.
A previous Irmo mayor also proposed moving it to the small town nearby, but the council at the time shot down that idea.
“I think it’s ultimately, what’s the best place for it that ties into public space that people can enjoy?” Rickenmann said.
Bailey said he would like to see Busted Plug “placed in a prominent, visible, public-utilized space and then resurrect it back to its original glory with the water running and all that stuff.”
Lee Snelgrove, former executive director of arts nonprofit One Columbia, said he hopes to see the city engage with the public as it moves forward with moving the sculpture.
“Once it’s in the public eye, it is definitely a piece that the public values, and how you take care of your art collection is very important,” Snelgrove said. “I think it’s totally appropriate to move with the right conditions for making sure that it’s installed in a way that is still adding to the cultural landscape of Columbia.”
Only thing I know about Columbia is the National Advocacy Center (DOJ) cafeteria has some of the best food I've ever eaten. I dream about it. Wish they would let retirees in to eat.
I think they should put it near the waterworks plant and Riverfront park, maybe near the corner of Huger and Laurel streets if the railroad would allow it, or next to EdVenture and make it safe for children to play in, or something.
Does this feel true to Columbia-area residents? I moved to Charleston exactly at the halfway mark of last decade.
From an article about Columbia-area regional economic cooperation with landscaping efforts to tie governmental entities together:
“Columbia-area property values grew just 16 percent from 2010 to 2020, compared with 36 percent in Greenville, 171 percent in Rock Hill and 217 percent in Charleston.
“The city’s prime working-age population — adults aged 25 to 54 — grew just 2.5 percent, compared with 15 percent in Charleston, 34 percent in Greenville and 64 percent in Rock Hill, despite the thousands of graduates produced by the University of South Carolina each year.
“Those numbers three years ago are what prompted the effort to encourage regional cooperation as Bussell said business leaders felt Charleston and Greenville were moving forward and Columbia was left behind.”
Does this feel true to Columbia-area residents? I moved to Charleston exactly at the halfway mark of last decade.
From an article about Columbia-area regional economic cooperation with landscaping efforts to tie governmental entities together:
“Columbia-area property values grew just 16 percent from 2010 to 2020, compared with 36 percent in Greenville, 171 percent in Rock Hill and 217 percent in Charleston.
“The city’s prime working-age population — adults aged 25 to 54 — grew just 2.5 percent, compared with 15 percent in Charleston, 34 percent in Greenville and 64 percent in Rock Hill, despite the thousands of graduates produced by the University of South Carolina each year.
“Those numbers three years ago are what prompted the effort to encourage regional cooperation as Bussell said business leaders felt Charleston and Greenville were moving forward and Columbia was left behind.”
The Midland has long been balkanized ..urban vs rural city vs suburb.. politics and some may argue sometimes race .. It's a matter of survival at this point for the region to come together. It's unfortunate that it's taken this long . I agree I think things are looking up but I haven't seen leaders standing out front pushing for this ..hell Richland County and Columbia still have drama ..you throw Lexington County and all the dozens of towns /cities in the region and it's chaotic. Charleston seems to work well with it satellite cities though I know they have their own jurisdictional battles. They come together when it counts atleast it seems that way
The Midland has long been balkanized ..urban vs rural city vs suburb.. politics and some may argue sometimes race .. It's a matter of survival at this point for the region to come together. It's unfortunate that it's taken this long . I agree I think things are looking up but I haven't seen leaders standing out front pushing for this ..hell Richland County and Columbia still have drama ..you throw Lexington County and all the dozens of towns /cities in the region and it's chaotic. Charleston seems to work well with it satellite cities though I know they have their own jurisdictional battles. They come together when it counts atleast it seems that way
+1 I think the fundamental question is- do people in the Midlands claim Columbia and if they do, are they net promoters? Part of the success of Charleston and Greenville is undoubtedly the regional pride that comes with both. Columbia lacks that in my view, but it's a necessary ingredient.
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