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Description
This vibrant postcard captures the “Indo Arch”, a 40-foot high structure inspired by the form of Islamic arches. Built by artist Gerald Walburg, the arch was formed from controlled-erosion corten steel, designed to age and oxidize over time. Walburg won a design completion in 1977 and was paid $70,000 for what has become an iconic part of Sacramento’s downtown. Before the three sections could be delivered and installed in summer of 1979, a local newspaper and city councilman attacked the approved art (described as “ugly as hell”) and petitioned that the arch be moved closer to the Crocker Art Gallery. The original provision held and the artwork has welcomed pedestrians between Old Sacramento and the Downtown area for decades. Flanked by a high-rise parking structure and a high-end Macy’s store, the Indo Arch nearly frames the spire of the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament with the Citizen’s Hotel (originally the Cal- Life Insurance Building) and the Elks Club Building, both 15-floor structures constructed in 1925.
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