[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 45 (Friday, April 2, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E503]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    RECOGNIZING THE DEDICATION OF EPOCH BY THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

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                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 1, 2004

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to share with Congress that on 
Monday, April 19, 2004, District of Columbia Mayor Anthony A. Williams 
will publicly dedicate Epoch, a permanent monumental abstract steel 
sculpture by artist Albert Paley, which was recently installed in front 
of the PEPCO Headquarters at 9th and G Streets, NW. A poem by Dolores 
Kendrick, Poet Laureate of Washington, DC, is stamped into the metal 
structure of the sculpture. The genesis and placement of the text were 
determined through collaborative efforts between Ms. Kendrick and Mr. 
Paley. This project represents the second instance in which an African 
American woman has been honored by being prominently represented in a 
public artwork in the District of Columbia. The first African American 
woman was Mary McLeod Bethune, whose sculpture is in Lincoln Park.
  Epoch will serve as a major landmark in the heart of newly re-
developed and revitalized downtown Washington, DC. Its location marks a 
major intersection for pedestrian and vehicular travel within the 
dynamic 7th Street Arts District, an area that is emerging as a hot and 
stylish destination for entertainment, retail, and culture. Epoch is 
installed across the street from the Smithsonian Museum of American 
Art/Portrait Gallery, the Gallery Place Metro Station, and the Martin 
Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library, the main branch of the DC Public 
Library. This area also features the MCI Center Arena, the new 
Washington Convention Center, the City Museum of Washington, DC, the 
Washington Shakespeare Theatre, the Spy Museum, the National Mall, and 
a significant number of prominent art galleries, shops, and 
restaurants.
  Epoch measures 25 feet high by 12 feet wide by 10 feet deep, 
approximately one and a half stories tall, and is painted in a vibrant 
multicolored palette featuring blue, yellow, purple and red-orange. The 
design of the sculpture was recommended by a special selection 
committee for the project that included community representatives and 
was approved by Commissioners of the D.C. Commission on the Arts and 
Humanities (appointed by the Mayor of the District of Columbia) and the 
Commission of Fine Arts (appointed by the President of the U.S.A.).

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