TERRE HAUTE — The waters of the Wabash River silently flow past the city of Terre Haute with little notice. Turn to the River, an initiative of Wabash Valley Art Spaces, wants to change that.
For years, the people of Terre Haute have turned their backs to the river, said Mary Kramer, executive director of Art Spaces, a group that promotes outdoor sculpture in the city. “Now we want to bring it back in a way that makes sense to our era.”
It may be hard to imagine, but in the 1800s, steamboats docked in Terre Haute almost constantly. Citizens lined up for excursions on the river, and a floating circus even entertained residents on the water.
The musical score for a 1921 song, “I’m going to float my boat right back to Terre Haute,” features the drawing of a large steamboat on the cover.
For a lot of reasons, those days are over. But Turn to the River wants to make the river attractive again.
On Tuesday, Art Spaces unveiled the Turn to the River plan, a colorful, 114-page document full of ideas for making the river an asset to downtown Terre Haute. It features photos, drawings, maps and comments from visiting artists who see potential in the waterway.
The document is “a grand plan” for taking back the river, said Pat Martin, Terre Haute’s city planner, speaking at a July meeting of the city’s Redevelopment Commission, which contributed $5,000 to help cover the $50,000 cost of the plan. The National Endowment for the Arts provided $25,000. Other supporters included the city of Terre Haute, Indiana State University, Rose-Hulman and Ivy Tech Community College.
There are at least two big steps Art Spaces and Turn to the River would like to see, Kramer said. First, the groups favor a feasibility study for building a pedestrian bridge over Third Street, which is seen as a huge barrier between downtown and the river. Second, Kramer said she would like to see - if possible - the Vigo County Jail moved to a new spot to allow that space north of the Courthouse to be used for something much more attractive to people strolling to the banks of the Wabash.
Last fall, Sheriff Greg Ewing assembled a committee to study inmate population problems at the jail in the wake of a class action lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union.
If all goes well, Turn to the River will enter its “design phase” late this fall, Kramer said.