Public Art and Museums Cannon Beach didn’t earn its reputation as an art lover’s paradise on its galleries alone. You can barely walk two blocks in this town without bumping into a mesmerizing sculpture or mural that begs to be explored. Start your tour of art around town at the corner of Spruce and Second streets at The Wave sculpture, a steel interpretation of the ocean’s waves by Sharon Warman Agnor. Continue north on Spruce, cross Third Street and walk to the corner of East Third Street, where you’ll find a block-long rusted whale ribs sculpture created by Nick Thomas Design Studio. Now follow East Third Street east as it turns and becomes Fir Street. Just before the bridge, walk west on the bark trail to the beach access at the edge of Ecola Creek. The cedar Welcome Pole sculpture was carved by Native artist Guy Capoeman and is inspired by the original ClatsopNehalem Tribe that lived along this creek bank. Continue along the trail through a small, wooded area, emerging at Spruce Street and turning right on Third Street to Whale Park. Here you’ll find a bronze whale sculpture commemorating the 1806 visit of Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery, when they reportedly found a whale that had washed ashore here. Cross Hemlock Street and walk south to enter the heart of downtown Cannon Beach. Turn left up the pathway by Coastal Yarns, where the courtyard features a bronze seal sculpture by Northwest sculptor Georgia Gerber. Pass through the courtyard to the south to find a colorful mural by Rumi Tsuda depicting Cannon Beach scenes. Return to Hemlock Street and continue south. Cross Hemlock to check out the raven sculpture fountain in the courtyard of the Landing by Jim Eppler, and then continue, crossing West First Street and Hemlock again, to A Delicate Balance, a sculpture with stacked chickens and eggs, by sculptor Wayne Chabre. Next, walk a half-mile south along the east side of Hemlock to Coolidge Avenue to see bronze tufted puffins by Georgia Gerber. Walk one block east on Coolidge, one block south on Evergreen, two blocks east on Dawes and one block on South Spruce Street to the Cannon Beach History Center and Museum. The nonprofit museum is rich with local history and hosts events like the annual fall Cottage Tour, a self-guided walking tour of a dozen or so historic homes and locations. Just over a half-mile north via Spruce Street, across from the Cannon Beach Visitor Center, is Contact, an orange steel bench formed by two figures reaching toward each other, created by artist Alisa Looney. Want More Inspiration? About a five-minute drive south on Hemlock Street brings you to the Tolovana Wayside Park, where you’ll find the Salmon Journey sculpture by Native artist Lillian Pitt and artist Aaron Loveitt. KENNY HUY NGUYEN (2) ARTS AND CULTURE A Delicate Balance Whale ribs sculpture 16 Cannon Beach Experience Guide
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