To be honest, I never really thought about the public art that was available in some areas around the region in the decade or so that I’ve lived there until I made it a point to seek it out. And when I got started, I found or remembered all these other beautiful art pieces that tell the story of Tahoe’s past. From Crystal Bay Club’s crystals to Sand Harbor State Park, here are some of my favorite free and accessible artworks from Crystal Bay to Sand Harbor.
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Crystal Bay, Crystal & Bronze statues, 14 NV-28
Within the walls of the Crystal Bay Club Casino, 14 crystal and bronze sculptures created by Butch Vallee glisten from the entrance to the sportsbook. It took Vallee between 250 to 400 hours to make. The one by the cashiers’ desk is my favorite. “The Brain” features a half a head peering into a brain full of purple and white crystals. Crystal Bay Club Casino marketing manager Sam Shear says that it cost $45,000 for the artist to make and he used 82 to 85 percent copper, which is a little bit higher grade than museum-quality bronze.
Read Part I & III
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Post Office Murals, 26 NV-28
Artist Bryce Chisholm painted murals on two walls at the Crystal Bay Post Office earlier this year featuring a Stellar Jay on one wall with a Bald Eagle on another wall.
Outside the Incline Village Crystal Bay Visitors Bureau visitors can sit in a galis dungal, a traditional Washo shelter built by Ben Rupert, a Washo chief’s grandson.
Incline Village, Animal Statues, Intersection of Highways 28 & 431
In 2014, a group of locals were sick of the bottlenecks at the intersection of Highways 28 and 431 in Incline Village, so they petitioned Tahoe Transportation District and Nevada Department of Transportation to create a roundabout. After it was built, those same people formed the Incline Roundabout Public Art nonprofit and enlisted the help of local sculptorJune Towill Brown to create bronze sculptures to place in the center. Local fauna such as a bear, deer and a coyote permanently stand among the native flora and overgrown brush.
“5 Kids in a Tree”, 845 Alder Ave.
As an avid reader, I frequent the Incline Village Library at least once a week and was pleasantly surprised when one day a bronze sculpture titled, “5 Kids in a Tree,” showed up next to the walkway. The bronze statue was created by sculptor Ken Ross and donated by longtime residents and book lovers Andrew Whyman and Barbara Perlman-Whyman.
Galis Dungal, 969 Tahoe Blvd.
Tucked into the trees along Highway 28 the Incline Village Crystal Bay Visitors Bureau provides information on what to do, see and where to go locally. Along with giving out pamphlets and selling locally made items, there is a gallery. Unfortunately, due to covid the art gallery is closed. There are Native American artifacts and historical displays of native Washo tribes in prime condition. Outside, however, visitors can sit in the galis dungal, a traditional Washo shelter built by Ben Rupert, a Washo chief’s grandson.
Spinning Globe, 926 Incline Way
The folks at the visitors bureau told me about this art piece in the lobby of Carson Tahoe Medical Group’s office. While it took a minute to find, it was totally worth it. Created by German artist Josef Kusser of Kusser Graniteworks, this interactive feature in the center of the lobby is best described as a kugel-ball fountain: a rotating world globe that spins continuously in water. It’s mesmerizing to watch this oversized granite sphere spin around.
Parasol Building statue, 948 Incline Way
Donald W. Reynolds Community Nonprofit Center houses 12 nonprofits, among them is Parasol Tahoe Community Foundation. Thanks to generous donors, picnic benches, vibrant flowers and a bronze statue of a child holding an umbrella surround the building. The center allows for nonprofit collaboration and its bigger mission of enhancing and preserving the quality of life in Tahoe.
“Buddha’s Eye”, 999 Tahoe Blvd.
At a liberal arts university, I’d expect to see some public art pieces, and this is definitely the case at Sierra Nevada University. In 2005, sculptor Robert Wick donated a bronze sculpture called “Buddha’s Eye” to the university that is now on display in front of Prim Library.
Tahoe East Shore Trail, 1924 Tahoe Blvd.
There’s a lot to love about the Tahoe East Shore Trail that starts at Tunnel Creek Café and takes bikers and pedestrians on a 3-mile paved path to Sand Harbor State Park, passing various beaches and pullout areas to take in Big Blue. However, this fairly new trail also hosts two public art pieces: a mural within the tunnel close to the start of the path and a small camera as part of Jonathan Keats’ Tahoe Timescape project installed next to the last viewpoint about 400 yards away from the Sand Harbor boat ramp.
“The Beauty Way,” painted by Tyler Rivenbark and Frida Ticehurst-Rivenbark, features a colorful landscape of mountains, animals, the sun and the water from within the tunnel. Tahoe Timescape camera is taking a 100-year exposure of Lake Tahoe in an attempt to record the changing environment. The project hopes people will contemplate what they can do to help maintain the beauty of the Sierra Nevada.
There is so much to see and do while finding art on Tahoe’s East Shore. Be sure to carve out some time to take in the manmade beauty and history that complements the natural surroundings.
