On June 8, 2016, the Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia hosted its 23rd Annual Preservation Achievement Awards, which celebrates individuals, organizations, businesses, and projects of historic preservation in the Philadelphia area. The annual event is the largest gathering of preservationists in the city’s region.
The sculpture had been placed into storage for more than a decade following the demolition of the Civic Center in 1999.
Among the list of honorees, the Preservation Alliance awarded the “2016 Grand Jury Award for the Restoration & Installation of Walker Hancock’s Air Sculpture on the Schuylkill.” The award honored the Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy (Creative Philadelphia); Schuylkill River Development Corporation; Materials Conservation, LLC; National Park Service; and the City’s Conservation Advisory Committee. The Association for Public Art (aPA) serves on the advisory committee to the city.
In April 2015, Creative Philadelphia hosted the public dedication of Walker Hancock’s Air on the Schuylkill Banks, across from 30th Street Station where his Pennsylvania Railroad War Memorial is located. Air was installed in 1982 at what was once the City’s Civic Center in West Philadelphia, originally commissioned by the City of Philadelphia’s Percent for Art Program. The sculpture had been placed into storage for more than a decade following the demolition of the Civic Center in 1999.
Read more about the rededication