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DESCRIPTION: 10-foot high bronze and concrete sculpture of a celery stalk, mounted on a 10-foot by 8½-foot bronze, stone and concrete platform
Richard Turner's sculpture for the City of Santa Ana pays tribute to the area's early Japanese agricultural heritage. The celery stalk image serves as a memorial to one of the most common crops cultivated in the area by Japanese Issei farmers.
The sculpture is at the entry point of the Flower Street Bike and Walking Trail. It was funded by a Recreation Trails and Transportation Enhancement Activity grant and was dedicated on July 11, 2015.
LOCATION: northeast corner of Flower Street and Sunflower Street, Flower Street Bike Trail, Santa Ana, California, USA
TEXT FROM THE PLAQUE:" We Too Were Once Strangers is a celebration of the heritage and achievement of the Japanese American farmers of Orange County. In 1940 there were 245 Japanese “Issei” farms in Orange County. The memorial is located on land once cultivated by the immigrant farmers. The produce from the farms was sold at a market in Santa Ana located at Broadway and Fourth Street. Celery was one of the four main crops that were grown. The stone paving of the base recalls pathways in traditional Japanese gardens, which often featured recycled millstones as accents."Richard Turner, artist 2015
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