Date Of Visit: September 24, 2016
Location: S Main St, Providence, RI
Hours: Accessible everyday, 24 hours a day
Cost: Free
Parking: There is on street parking and several parking garages in the area
Handicapped Accessible: Yes
Dog Friendly: Yes
Highlight: concrete obelisk constructed with over 1,000 real guns embedded in the concrete of the structure
I found this group of photos from a visit to Providence, Rhode Island last summer. I was originally going to post it on my Facebook page. But, since not everyone has liked my Facebook page (you really should), I decided to post it here. But, I do periodically post additional photos, videos and other fun stuff on my Facebook page that I don’t post on WordPress. So, think about joining it. OK, enough shameless self-promoting.
Built from 1,000 reclaimed guns from the Guns For Goods gun buy back program, the Gun Totem is a 12 foot obelisk made of concrete and 1,000 guns. Perhaps not coincidentally, the totem is located across the courthouse in Providence, Rhode Island.
Award winning artist Boris Bally created the monument in 2001. The concrete was chipped away to reveal the guns giving the guns a fossilized look. Or, as Bailey is quoted and saying:
“All aboriginal cultures, including this country’s own native American culture, build totemic structures to serve as venerated symbols of a clan or family… It will act as a monolithic, metallic warning and ‘mojo’ to ward off evil and violence so prevalent in today’s society. A crew of volunteer ‘archaeologists’ aided me in carefully chipping away areas of the concrete skin to reveal the ‘fossilized’ handguns beneath.”
New England Nomad 