Colonial Travelers – Bronze Statues

Statues In Colonial Beach

The bronze statues of a man and woman located in the small pedestrian plaza at the end of Colonial Ave. have become a favorite of locals. Photographers love to find ways to portray the couple in a holiday fashion, dressing them in scarves and holiday hats. These travelers from a bygone era are the perfect models, they never move, they never tire and they never have to stop for breaks.

The pair are situated at the North end of the public boardwalk and provide a place of tranquility to watch the birds, nature and the occasional boat that passes by. This location housed Ferry Landing where in the late 1800’s and the turn of the century steamships would dock to offload passengers and cargo. With ornate benches, it’s easy to sit and daydream what life was like in a simpler time.

It’s hard to discuss the statues without providing a little background information. Many folks know that the pair were created to symbolize a couple around 1910 getting off one of the famous steamboats that frequently stopped at Colonial Beach.

What many don’t know is that the statues were commissioned by two different artists. Both with the first name of Kathleen and both living thousands of miles apart.

The Gentleman

Kathleen Scarboro, a French artist living in Montreuil, (France) was commissioned to create the male statue depicting a tourist from 1905 for Colonial Beach in 2016.

The statue was to accompany his “companion piece” a woman from the same era created by another sculptor, Kathleen Farrell.

Working from a live model, Scarboro created wire sculpture frame adding polystyrene foam for volume. “The idea is to avoid using too much Plasticine which quickly becomes very heavy” Scarboro wrote in an article describing the process.

Due to the cost of shipping Scarboro traveled to America and worked from a studio in Illinois to keep costs down.

Scarboro said, “Men’s clothing hasn’t changed all that much since the early 1900’s. Among the prosperous, boater hats were popular and my tourist is carrying a carpet bag rather than a suitcase. Ties were bigger, and shoes did not have laces. Suits were cut a bit differently with less emphasis on the width of the shoulders that we see today.”

The process of sculpting took about 2.5 months before being sent to the foundry.

The Lady

Kathleen Farrell was commissioned to create the companion lady for the Colonial Beach duo. Farrell has been a full time artist since 1988 working as a Painter, Sculptor, Muralist and Mosaic Artist. She also has more than 30 years experience creating public art while working with governmental agencies and community groups. She has partnered extensively with the City of Joliet, Illinois and the City of Naperville, Illinois since 1975 and created public art while partnering with community groups in Joliet, Illinois and other cities since 1975.

The Foundry

A bronze sculpture foundry turns clay artwork and sculptures into bronze masterpieces. Bronze is a long lasting, strong metal made from Copper and a small portion of tin. The combination doesn’t rust but it can oxidize, this is what creates the greenish patina that is so famous on bronze statues.

Scarboro said the process at the foundry took three months before the sculptures were sent to Virginia. She returned to France by the time they arrived in Colonial Beach.

Placement of the Statues

The statues were not placed immediately upon their arrival in Colonial Beach. In fact it was a couple of years before they would find their forever home at the end of Colonial Ave and at the North entrance to the boardwalk.

The statues were originally commissioned as part of a plan to create a pedestrian plaza the end of Colonial Ave. The plaza would not only be a gateway to the newly renovated boardwalk on the north side, but it was planned as an area to allow visitors to sit and relax as well as enjoy a splash park to cool off in the summer. The grand plans were being funded by a Transportation Alternative Project (TAP) Grant in the amount of $542,000 from VDOT.

The Pedestrian Plaza utilizes a rarely used portion at the end of Colonial Ave., which extends several yards past the final entrance and exit to the large hotel (currently River Edge Inn) located at 30 Colonial Ave.

The area was once a steam boat landing. The original design of the plaza was created with preserving that history in mind. Grand plans for a splash pad for children and adults to enjoy during the summer had to be abandoned when the water and sewer infrastructure needs were discovered to be too costly for the funding of the project. The area’s proximity to the river and old piping were contributing factors.

The current Public Works Director, Rob Murphy, said obtaining permits for the water park also posed a challenge due to Chesapeake Bay Act regulations regarding the 100 foot buffer zone. Strict regulations apply, under the Chesapeake Bay Act, when disturbing any land with 100 feet of the Chesapeake Bay or any of its tributaries.

The new design was scaled back but allowed for several benches to allow folks to sit and relax in the company of the two travelers form 1906.

The statues were finally placed in the Winter of 2019 and by the next summer benches were added along with a lamppost to illuminate the area at night.

Residents love to photograph the statues with little embellishments to match the holidays. The statues are also a great place for people to hide rocks for little ones to find and a good place to just sit and imagine what the town was like back in the early 1900’s.