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Sunken Gardens Gazebo

Looking into sunken gardens, with the rotary gazebo at the front left and trees on the far right.

About the Sculpture

"I expect to make this spot the most beautiful place in the city, either in or out of the parks. The ground lends itself perfectly to the making of a sunken garden at the same time a spot rich in beauty." - E. M. Bair - November 1930.

This quote is inscribed along the inside of the Rotary #14 Pavilion that stands in Sunken Gardens that was made in 2005 to honor the 100th anniversary of Rotary International. The gazebo was made through collaboration of the Lincoln Rotary Club #14 and the Lincoln East Rotary Club.

Jeff Chadwick of Clark & Enersen led the design of the pavilion, and shared the process of it's creation with the department in a "walk down memory lane" as he put it. The design of the pavilion was inspired by the Greek myth of Psyche and Eros. The couple sits on the edge of the garden, watching over the flora. The dome represents Psyche and Eros is represented in the building housing the mechanics and bathrooms. The dome is physically created out of powdered steel.

During the construction of the pavilion, a few trees had to be removed but were honored and recreated on the dome, with the same tree repeated 8 times following the seasons of growth starting with the barren branches in the north portion which represents winter. Moving to the east, the trees start to bud and the foliage is full by the south portion. In the west, the leaves on the trees begin to fall from the branches as both the city and the trees prepare for winter.

Also hidden amongst the foliage is a family of raccoons which follows the hibernation periods of the species as well as other animals such as squirrels and jayhawks. Along the bottom of the dome is a collection of symbols to represent Lincoln and Nebraska as a whole. Each symbol is facing the direction of the actual landmark in Lincoln, for example the Capitol building is visible on the dome while looking northwest and the actual Capitol is northwest of the gazebo, or facing the season it is most commonly associated with. A more detailed list of symbols is listed below along with photos of each season's section.

The Sunken Garden with its brick walking path looping through the summer blooms.

Rotating around the inside of the rotary gazebo showcasing a canopy of trees with various animals and Lincoln landmarks interspersed.

A black and white version of the sunken gardens gazebo design showing the start of winter going into spring. There are tree branches, snowflakes, animals, and symbols like grain silos, a sunrise, and a water tower.

Left to Right:

Winter
- Pine trees to represent Pioneers Park
- Grain silos
Spring
- Sunrise
- Water tower

A black and white diagram of the sunken gardens gazebo showing the summer and fall sections. It includes the trees, with leaves falling in the right section, and symbols like a cropduster and scarecrow, a windmill, a sunset, the Capitol building

Left to Right:

Summer
- Crop duster leaving trails over the scarecrow standing in the field of crops
- A small windmill
Fall
- The sunset
- First Plymouth Church
- Capitol Building

One quarter of the rotary gazebo featuring a canopy of trees with various animals scattered in the branches. At the bottom is grain silos and a rising sun. Shows moving from winter into spring

One quarter of the rotary gazebo featuring a canopy of trees with various animals interspersed. There is also a water tower, a cropduster leaving trails, and a scarecrow standing in a cornfield. Shows the changing from spring into summer.

One quarter of the rotary gazebo featuring the canopy of trees with animals interspersed. Along the bottom is a small windmill, a sunset with birds migrating, and part of First Plymouth Church. Shows the seasons changing from summer to fall.

One quarter of the rotary gazebo featuring a canopy of trees with various wildlife, snowflakes interspersed, and the capitol building and pine trees lining the bottom. It shows the changing from fall into winter.

Looking up into the top of the Rotary Gazebo shows a flower pattern with an opening to the sky as the center.

About the Artist

Jeff Chadwick is an architect, now Director of Architecture, for Clark & Enersen. He has been with Clark & Enersen for more than 33 years as of 2023 with more than 20 years of project experience including notable projects like the Assurity Center Corporate Campus, Hastings Middle School, the Farm Credit Services of America Corporate Campus, the Doane College Art and Education building, and the LPS Kloefkorn Elementary. He has been an active member of the Lincoln community serving as Board President for the Lincoln Arts Council and the Bright Lights Summer Program. Chadwick even has a personal connection to this gazebo, as he hid his children's initials inside the dome in the sections of season they were born.

TMCO Metals did the laser creation of the Gazebo roof. TMCO was established in 1973 in Lincoln, Nebraska, where it still operates today. The Total Manufacturing Company specializes in one-stop, concept-to-completion metal manufacturing services. TMCO can finish a product from any stage, be it create, fabrication, paint, assembly—or if you wish, the whole works.

Additional Information

Sunken Gardens

Length: 25 ft.

Width: 25 ft.