Cedar Falls Public Art
Since 1999, the Cedar Falls Public Art Committee (CFPAC) has implemented public art projects across the city to enhance and compliment the vibrant cultural scene of the community. These public artworks have become iconic elements of the city’s landscape.
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We've been able to complete the following projects with the help of donations from community members who support art as well as funded in part with Hotel Motel Tax. Tax deductible donations are always welcomed via the Cedar Falls Community Foundation.
Roundabout CF Public Art Tour
Take the tour year round! This innovative mobile platform offers a convenient and enjoyable way to discover our city’s diverse collection of sculptures and murals. With a playful nod to Cedar Falls’ iconic roundabouts, the Roundabout Cedar Falls Art Tour promises to be a delightful adventure for art enthusiasts and curious explorers alike. Whether you’re strolling on foot or cruising on your bike, this mobile tour makes it effortless to pinpoint the locations of our city’s artistic treasures.
SCAN QR CODE found on the sculpture plaques or go directly to the app. Our team at the Hearst Center has added some exciting features to enhance your art tour experience. Take part in our selfie challenge by snapping photos in front of your favorite artworks and earn some awesome Hearst swag. Plus, test your knowledge of art and Iowa artists with engaging quizzes designed to entertain you as you stroll along our trails.
We’re proud to acknowledge the support of the Cedar Falls Community Foundation Diamond Art & History grant, which made this project possible. So, what are you waiting for?
List of Sculptures / Locations
allure
2005
Artist: Robert Craig
Location: 3rd & Main Streets
"This major sculpture was inspired by Cedar Falls' architecture and landscape, the Cedar River, and the sense of renewal and energy present along Main Street. As the title suggests, I designed a sculpture that would entice by fascination and appeal."
Drop Leaf Chicken
2004
Artist: Scott Wallace
Location: Cedar Falls Public Library
"Drop Leaf Chicken' is intended to reflect American domestic culture. The sculpture, which exploits scale relationships, is presented as an amalgam of embellished forms inspired by the shapes, ornamental qualities, and symbolic wealth of decorative objects. Specifically: a decorative chicken, a drop leaf table, a lace doily, and the shapes often found within wallpaper patterns."
Course
2002
Artist: Tom Stancliffe
Location: Cedar Falls City Hall
"The imagery for this relief deals with the geologic landscape and the history of Cedar Falls. The geologic landscape emphasizes the Cedar River and was created on the steel through the use of etching and burnishing."
Nestled
2001
Artist: Gillian Christy
Location: Hearst Sculpture Garden
"It is in 'Nestled' that I explore home and nature. The branch symbolizes nature, and the spine upholding everyday life and the many choices and decisions one can make. Home embodies familiarity, all held together with the safe supports of family, friends, and community."
North Is Up
2004
Artist: Dennis Swanson
Location: Hearst Sculpture Garden
Gift given in memory of Isabella & Raymund Swanson.
"North Is Up' carries the instructions for its placement. Two limestone architectural fragments bend the directions as they wrap our globe, then reach longingly for the pole star and another world."
Standing Stone
2004
Artist: Marie Camille Truscott Lentsch
Location: Cedar Falls Utilities
"Free standing and sovereign strength celebrate the journey in the life of this glacial erratic granite stone. 'Standing Stone's' strength is both imposing and serene, a tribute to all journeys ancient and new. Whether seen as a burden or full of the gravity of grace, here rides 'Standing Stone.'"
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Horse and Rider
2002
Artist: Jim Benedict
Location: Cedar Falls Visitor Center
"Horse and Rider' is my interpretation of the classic equestrian form. This piece is my first attempt at creating a three dimensional sculpture with steel and serves as a transition from my more two dimensional works."
Temporal Dialogue
2002
Artist: Bounnak Thammavong
Location: Hearst Sculpture Garden
"Marking a Moment' is a form based on the sundial. The base is a disc with an inverted cone on top. 'Perpetual Impact' is a geometric disc form with an organic squiggle set on top to break its symmetry and imply a direction."
Whisk
2000
Artist: Marc Moulton
Location: Hearst Center for the Arts
"Whisk' is a dynamic cyclone touching down at the Hearst Center. With a form similar to swirling winds and lightning bolts, 'Whisk' imparts action and movement to the front entrance at the Hearst Center."
Eclipse #5
2002
Artist: Rob Lorenson
Location: Hearst Sculpture Garden
"In each of these pieces the elements of my work exist in suspended animation. They are situated as though to freeze a moment in time in which they exist effortlessly in space. The work is constructed of sturdy permanent materials that allow this to happen but yet is in contradiction to the impermanent sense of the composition. The forms have boldness and exactness that have become hallmarks of my work. The circular forms are inspired by cycles within our existence, with the evidence of the inconsistencies of life."
Hurricane
2002
Artist: Rob Lorenson
Location: Hearst Sculpture Garden
"In each of these pieces the elements of my work exist in suspended animation. They are situated as though to freeze a moment in time in which they exist effortlessly in space. The work is constructed of sturdy permanent materials that allow this to happen but yet is in contradiction to the impermanent sense of the composition. The forms have boldness and exactness that have become hallmarks of my work. The circular forms are inspired by cycles within our existence, with the evidence of the inconsistencies of life."
JT-3 Rotation
2002
Artist: Matthew Moore
Location: Hearst Sculpture Garden
Gift of the Gardens to Main Street
It's All Relative
2003
Artist: Jerry Cowger
Location: 2nd & Main Streets
"Life is a moving, growing, and ever-changing pursuit and art reflects that truth perfectly. 'It's All Relative' is a brief but telling pause that provides a look into, not only the moment a design is conceived in the artist's heart, but the path of perseverance he chose which brought it into being."
Gateway To The Trails
2000
Artist: Bruce White
Location: Peter Melendy Park
"For a period of years I have been engaged in creating both interior and exterior artwork for architectural and public spaces...I am always excited about opportunities to create large-scale works in unique settings."
Ebb Tide
2000
Artist: Tom Stancliffe
Location: 4th & Main Streets
"Ebb Tide' is a response to observations of flora and fauna clinging tenaciously to every available surface in the warm ocean waters a myriad of life that appears alternately fluid and lush or abrasive and arid as the tides rise and fall at the whim of the moon."
Epic
2003
Artist: Marc Moulton
Location: Olsens' Park
"Epic is a soaring symbol of action and force, the physical representation of Spirit, Place, and Community. As a metaphor of an endless river rushing against a timeless earth, it embodies the goals and values of our community."
Showtime
2012
Artist: Thelma Weresh
Location: First & Main Streets
Donated to the City of Cedar Falls by the family of Shirley and Gene Blair, this life-size sculpture in front of the Oster Regent Theatre depicts Gene's parents, Merle and Winifred Blair, who bought the theater in 1921 and operated it as a movie theater.
Sinuate
2016
Artist: Tim Jorgensen
Location: Fourth & Main Streets
Purchased by the Cedar Falls Public Art Committee, this life- size sculpture is stainless steel and painted mild steel. "Sinuate is a leaf form and a style of leaf. It means to curve in and out or bend in and out. The leaf forms and I-beams represent a balance between nature and industry."
Fence Roadway
2020
Artist: Gillian Christy
Location: Cedar Falls City Hall
This stainless steel and enamel sculpture is dedicated to the memory of Mayor Jon Crews in celebration of his community spirit. Purchased for Cedar Falls through private donations and support from Public Art Committee, Art and Culture Board, Cedar Falls Rotary, and the Crews Family.
Fence Roadway incorporates a sculptural fence and roadway as it stretches, winds and weaves towards the sky. In this sculpture I am playing with the expected form and function of a road and fence. It is meant to appear as a fantastical pathway while also expressing a sense of community connectedness. Working with familiar imagery like a winding road in the distance, is meant to capture the many perceptions of achieving the American dream.
It is fitting to imagine this sculpture honoring the work and efforts towards community building that Mayor Jon Crews achieved. Roads, sidewalks and fences are present in our daily life as one works towards achieving their dreams. These “connectors” are familiar imagery which depict the story of an admirable person devoted to public service. While we are all on our own path reaching, climbing and striving towards our personal goals it is important to identify that we are part of a bigger world. Hopefully, in a small way this sculpture can honor that bigger world that Mayor Jon Crews' vision was striving to reach in his effort to provide an improved quality of life for Cedar Falls residents.
Nest
2017
Artist: Tommy Riefe
Location: Center & Cedar Streets
Purchased by the Cedar Falls Public Art Committee & supported in part by a grant award from the Cedar Falls Community Foundation. The sculpture was fabricated out of 6 tons of weathering steel that was cut out of 1/8 thick sheets and welded together. NEST was created in response to both the natural and residential landscape. Inspired by the many bird habitats in the surrounding area, the form suggests a large nest that can be entered and inhabited.
Dream House
2022
Artist: Sujin Lim
Location: The Plaza, 2nd and State Street
Funding for this project was made possible by major contributions from the family and friends of Kristine Martinson and the Cedar Falls Public Art Committee. This sculpture was fabricated from sheets of aluminum by the University of Northern Iowa Public Art Incubator. Dream House is a warm and welcoming work of art that is also a landmark and multi-use open space. River Place Plaza, located in downtown Cedar Falls, is a meeting point where the two contrasting elements of nature and built environments come together. The Plaza’s left side is urban downtown; on the right side is a river and green space. It’s a place where community members meet and enjoy spending time together. A white house and cloud-shaped sculpture that is eleven feet high invites people upstairs leading to the plaza from downtown Cedar Falls. Once there, they will be pleasantly surprised to find a small bench at the back. The grass lawn symbolizes the small front yard of a house that invites people to sit and relax. The inspiration of the place reflects the warmth and exuberance that characterized Kristine Martinson’s life. I’m excited that the people of Cedar Falls can sit on the bench and enjoy looking out over the river and landscape at this site. I hope the project will be a fresh and unique artistic aspect of the visual fabric of Cedar Falls.
Cardiac Colleen
2025
Artist: Sarah Byrd
Materials: Aluminum
Location: 3rd and Main Street
Funding for this project was made possible by the Cedar Falls Public Art Committee. Constructed with UNI Public Art Incubator students.
"I am someone who struggles with a lot of heart illnesses that are often overlooked, which makes me feel invisible. I am currently trying to find answers about my health causing a dramatic change in my life. I still try to be positive when I am chronically ill and continue. I wanted to portray that everything is not always as it seems also how I feel seen but transparent.”
Main St Mural
Location: Main Street and East First Street, Main Street Bridge
Funding for this project was made possible by the Cedar Falls Public Art Committee.
Fox Beckons
Autumn Rozario Hall
Acrylic on paper, digital print, 2025
Together is Better
Sara Fitzgerald
Procreate, digital drawing, digital print, 2025
The Scraggle Wood
Autumn Rozario Hall
Acrylic on paper, digital print, 2025
This project's mission is to introduce murals into the community and energize high pedestrian traffic areas with regional artwork.
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Ready or Not
2025
Artist: Beth Nybeck
Materials: Aluminum
Otto the Otter c/o Ben Eckhoff, Hwy 58 / Waterloo Rd
Reggie the Rabbit c/o Heidi Jo Fields, Pfeiffer Springs Park
Freddy the Fox c/o Dan Breitbach, Paw Park
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The Binding
2019
Artist: Victoria Reed Nieman
"The Binding" was created by Cedar Valley artist Victoria Reed Nieman of Sumner, Iowa, and originally commissioned by the Cedar Falls Woman's Club to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, the constitutional amendment that granted women the right to vote. Directly inspired by the intricacy of crochet lacework, the sculpture pairs the delicate visual language of feminine craft with the unyielding strength of stainless steel, creating a powerful symbol of women’s resilience and enduring civic contribution.
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