Unfair Park Goes to Fair Park

Fair Park's latest additions -- which is to say, sculptor David Newton's recreations of Lawrence Tenney Stevens's nine-foot-high Contralto and Countertenor statues perched at the ends of the overhauled-for-$12-million Fair Park Esplanade -- make their formal debut Sunday, during Fair Park Holiday. (And, look, I'm going to warn you now:...

By Robert Wilonsky

December 2, 2009

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Fair Park's latest additions -- which is to say, sculptor David Newton's recreations of Lawrence Tenney Stevens's nine-foot-high Contralto and Countertenor statues perched at the ends of the overhauled-for-$12-million Fair Park Esplanade -- make their formal debut Sunday, during Fair Park Holiday. (And, look, I'm going to warn you now: Admission's free, but parking's $10.) But our Danny Fulgencio put on his heavy coat and headed down to Fair Park earlier this afternoon for the Esplanade's test run following its informal State Fair coming-out. The so-called "dancing water," a la the Bellagio's fountains, will be accompanied by four songs during the holidays, among 'em "The Yellow Rose of Texas" and "Jingle Bells." (What, no "Dreidel Song"?)

Crews were also installing Contralto, which, like its bookend, was created in '36 -- here's a look at the original -- but "mysteriously vanished" long ago. (Or did they?) More photos after the jump, but mind the construction.

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