SPOKANE, Wash – Spokane Parks Department employees have known for years about structural and appearance concerns with a public sculpture in Riverfront Park and aren’t sure what do to about its future.<\/p>\n
The Stepwell structure was paid for with more than $500,000 in taxpayer funds from the Riverfront Park bond in 2014.<\/p>\n
It sits on the south side of the Spokane River, not far from the Post Street boundary of the park.<\/p>\n
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COVID and other delays led to the sculpture not opening until 2023.<\/p>\n
Months after its opening, people started noticing graffiti. The city fenced what was supposed to be an interactive sculpture and in the years since, it\u2019s been inaccessible for weeks and months at a time.<\/p>\n
Emails obtained through a 4 News Now public records request reveal parks employees\u2019 concerns that it won\u2019t last in the park much longer.<\/p>\n
Stepwell\u2019s History<\/strong><\/p>\n The City of Spokane had high hopes for the Stepwell when it contracted Howeler and Yoon Architecture, an east coast firm, to turn the vision into reality.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the time, the park board really wanted an art piece that the public could interact with,\u201d said Garrett Jones, Director of Spokane Parks and Recreation. \u201cWe have visual art, we have other types of arts, but they wanted something just like the Rotary Fountain.\u201d<\/p>\n The city celebrated its opening with a public ceremony in April 2023.<\/p>\n \u201cIt looked beautiful,\u201d said Riverfront Park Director Jonathan Moog. \u201cIt was great.\u201d<\/p>\n But that enthusiasm didn’t last long.<\/p>\n Emails show\u00a0just four months after its opening, Moog wrote, \u201cWe are astounded by how the Stepwell is being treated.”<\/p>\n The email included pictures of the inside of the structure, covered in graffiti.<\/p>\n Park Board member Gerry Sperling also expressed concerns.<\/p>\n “The misuse and paint, etc. that is being ‘decorated’ in all types of verbiage and markings,\u201d she referenced. \u201cAnd, of course, homeless who are occupying the space as a ‘campsite.'”<\/p>\n Those weren\u2019t even the biggest problems.<\/p>\n “To be honest, there was concerns during that selection process of the type of material that was going to be used,” Jones said.<\/p>\n The material, chosen by HYA, was Alaskan yellow cedar, described online by one lumber company as \u201ca softer wood, more susceptible to dents, scratches and warping.\u201d<\/p>\n Pictures in city employee emails show issues with the Stepwell structure in Riverfront Park <\/p>\n “Really in the first summer, we started seeing some gaps starting to show between the interconnected pieces of the stepwell,” Moog said. “So we, we started expressing some concern about that to the, to the architect and the artist about.. should we be concerned about this?”<\/p>\n Soon after, the city put a fence around the 583-thousand dollar art piece and locked it up over the structural concerns and to mitigate graffiti.<\/p>\n \u2018What a wonderful piece of sh-art we were given\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n In August, 4 News Now asked the city about the Stepwell and why it was still fenced off. The communications officer with the Parks and Recreation Department told us the gaps were noticed “several months ago.”\u00a0<\/p>\n But, the city’s own emails show the gaps have been a concern since shortly after Stepwell opened.<\/p>\n Gaps in Stepwell structure in Riverfront Park <\/p>\n In 2024, while trying to find solutions, the city was informed the Stepwell artist had left HYA, adding to the parks employees\u2019 mounting\u00a0frustrations.<\/p>\n Parks Operation Foreman Aaron Champagne wrote in April of\u00a0last year, \u201cWhat a wonderful piece\u00a0of sh-art we were\u00a0given.\u201d<\/p>\n A few months later, Parks Safety and Facilities Manager Michael Prince wrote,\u00a0“At this pace, the Stepwell art piece will not survive a couple more winters and hot summers.”<\/p>\n Parks and Rec Director Garrett Jones admits hiring an east coast firm was not the best idea.<\/p>\n \u201cWe’ve kind of changed the way we solicit art to really have that regional, local artist feel,\u201d Jones said. \u201cI think that was just a barrier alone, being across the country and the communication and actually being able to see the site.”<\/p>\n So, what now?<\/strong><\/p>\n Moog says the city has hired a contractor to tighten up the structure again and paint it because the deficiencies are obvious.<\/p>\n Walking through the structure, he points out gaps and sagging.<\/p>\n He\u2019s not sure how much work it will take before anyone can safely enjoy the Stepwell again.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen someone mention it’s unsafe, we want to take that seriously,\u201d Moog said. \u201cSo they’ve flagged it as a concern and we want to evaluate it to its fullest. We don’t know.”<\/p>\n \u201cWe don’t want to give up,\u201d Jones said. \u201cWe want to honor the intent of what the artist had. So, it’s just really trying to find that balance.”<\/p>\n Moog remains confident the Stepwell will open again \u2013 eventually.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are going to do the maintenance,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to start in the fall. We’ll complete the painting in the spring. I feel confident that we’ll be able to reopen it, but we don’t have that assessment from the engineer, so that could very well change. And we’re prepared for that, too.”<\/p>\n COPYRIGHT 2025 BY KXLY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 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