Vandals attack dozens of sculptures in Port Angeles art park
PORT ANGELES. Wash. -- An overnight vandalism attack devastated at least 35 sculptures at the Port Angeles Fine Arts Center.
The sculptures in Webster's Woods, a 5-acre outdoor art park, were broken or pulled from their stands, said Director Robin Anderson.
The attack happened late Wednesday or early Thursday.
Port Angeles police officers Thursday afternoon had no leads or descriptions of vehicles, and the police department is seeking information leading to the vandal or vandals.
The first sign of the destruction was an overturned 8-foot-tall mushroom sculpture that Anderson spotted at about 10 a.m. Thursday when she arrived at her office at the arts center at 1203 E. Lauridsen Blvd.
"It's right outside my window," Anderson said.
At first, she thought the giant wooden mushroom had fallen because of natural erosion or aging, she said, but an hour later, a visitor to the art park came in to report more damage.
Webster's Woods features artworks by people from over the Pacific Northwest and Canada, including artists on the North Olympic Peninsula, and draws visitors from around the world.
A mosaic concrete angel, "Paul Bunyan's Chair" and other large, heavy works were pulled from their anchors or knocked over, and some were damaged beyond repair, she said.
"The 'Dancing Sweaters' were pretty damaged," she added.
Some sculptures were so heavy, Anderson suspected more than one person pulled them out of the ground or knocked them over.
The center was still assessing the damage Thursday afternoon and didn't yet have an estimate of the value of the damage.
Anderson said the final number could top $10,000.
The arts center and the park will be closed during the investigation and cleanup, Anderson said.
There are more than 100 pieces of sculpture and other art in the garden, with about a third of them damaged to some degree, she said.
Many of the pieces are older and weathered, so the monetary value is difficult to estimate.
But Anderson said the damage to the heart of the art community is the worst part.
"It's unmeasurable," she said.
Police are seeking information leading to the vandals, Officer John Nutter said Thursday.
Anyone with information can phone Port Angeles police at 360-452-4545 or at North Olympic Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477, with case number 2012-22470.
A reward of up to $1,000 is offered from Crime Stoppers for information that leads to an arrest in the case.
Peninsula Daily News is a media partner of KOMO News.
The sculptures in Webster's Woods, a 5-acre outdoor art park, were broken or pulled from their stands, said Director Robin Anderson.
The attack happened late Wednesday or early Thursday.
Port Angeles police officers Thursday afternoon had no leads or descriptions of vehicles, and the police department is seeking information leading to the vandal or vandals.
The first sign of the destruction was an overturned 8-foot-tall mushroom sculpture that Anderson spotted at about 10 a.m. Thursday when she arrived at her office at the arts center at 1203 E. Lauridsen Blvd.
"It's right outside my window," Anderson said.
At first, she thought the giant wooden mushroom had fallen because of natural erosion or aging, she said, but an hour later, a visitor to the art park came in to report more damage.
Webster's Woods features artworks by people from over the Pacific Northwest and Canada, including artists on the North Olympic Peninsula, and draws visitors from around the world.
A mosaic concrete angel, "Paul Bunyan's Chair" and other large, heavy works were pulled from their anchors or knocked over, and some were damaged beyond repair, she said.
"The 'Dancing Sweaters' were pretty damaged," she added.
Some sculptures were so heavy, Anderson suspected more than one person pulled them out of the ground or knocked them over.
The center was still assessing the damage Thursday afternoon and didn't yet have an estimate of the value of the damage.
Anderson said the final number could top $10,000.
The arts center and the park will be closed during the investigation and cleanup, Anderson said.
There are more than 100 pieces of sculpture and other art in the garden, with about a third of them damaged to some degree, she said.
Many of the pieces are older and weathered, so the monetary value is difficult to estimate.
But Anderson said the damage to the heart of the art community is the worst part.
"It's unmeasurable," she said.
Police are seeking information leading to the vandals, Officer John Nutter said Thursday.
Anyone with information can phone Port Angeles police at 360-452-4545 or at North Olympic Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477, with case number 2012-22470.
A reward of up to $1,000 is offered from Crime Stoppers for information that leads to an arrest in the case.
Peninsula Daily News is a media partner of KOMO News.
My, now they will have to send that all to the recycling bin. The value is Uncalculable. Lets try to understand the amount in lay mans terms. Zero dollars, yep it would take more time and effort to go through this then just throw it away then to resurrect it. Sad really sad,  the artist must be devastated !?
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WE do spend too much on art but that is no reason to destroy it... though the sculpture in this picture ... a house made up of plastic bottles... honestly... the definition of art needs revision...
 @Freespeech On the one hand you complain that WE spend too much on art, then you complain that this art is made of plastic bottles. Think about that wisdom for a moment.
They should have known they would have to have some kind of security ........... cameras and lights would have helped. Motion sensors for late at night. We do live in an electronic age where this kind of thing is getting more important and less expensive. Unless of course it wasn't worth protecting.
It might just be teenage punks. But it might also be that some of the people are tired of being over taxed and over controlled bt government. Sort of like throwing tea into a harbor.
 @dmw2913 Sort of like throwing tea in the harbor? Only if it was thrown in by people who already paid for and owned the tea. And that makes absolutely no sense.
 @dmw2913 that is entirely stupid.  Umm.. the tax rates are a fraction of what people paid even in the 80s.  Or shall we go back to the 50s?  Look it up.  No, it's some inbred, trailer-livin', PBR drinking, bored-to-tears, ignoramuses with carnival workers as parents.Â
it blows my mind that people have it in them to do something so petty and useless. bored idiot kids i assune.
What the hell is wrong with these people? Good grief! No regard for personal property at all! Should repay them by damaging their property that holds value to them!
 @Zoso People with idiot parents who never took the time to teach them, and model to them, the empathy for strangers.  Kids aren't born knowing it... that part of their brain develops around age 8, and if you're a total loser parent.. who thinks that TV and video games substitute parenting, your kids will turn out like that.  If it's one kid, then it's anger. Most likely someone that has grown up ignored or verbally abused, without a good parent role model... who feels worthless.  If it's two or more, then it's bored young people who are left aimless in their lives, as their parents are either busy getting drunk or high, OR too busy on their own facebook pages to give a whip about what their teens are doing. Kids need to feel needed, but they also need to know their place in the family.  Parents who are mean and abusive or so overly strict with absolutely no disent allowed, usually raise rage filled teens. Parents who think that their kids are precious snowflakes until jr. high, then they become invisible because Mommy and Daddy are busy... raise bored kids who do things because they need to feel something, anything.Â
 @DT Yeah exactly! With "what the hell is wrong with these people?" I can also be asking these parents the same question.
Whoever did that is just mean. I hope they find who did it.