''Midsummer Carnival Shaft'' is a public artwork by American architect Alfred C. Clas in the Court of Honor, in downtown

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, United States. It is on Wisconsin Avenue, between N. 8th and N. 11th Streets.

Description

The Midsummer Carnival Shaft was commissioned by the City of Milwaukee, which chose Alfred C. Clas as the artist to design/construct it. It was built as part of the Milwaukee Midsummer Carnival, an annual festival started in 1898 to honor Wisconsin's semicentennial, but which only lasted until 1901. The sculpture is constructed from Bedford limestone. It consists of one pillar that stands in the median of Wisconsin Avenue. The sculpture stands nearly as tall as the surrounding buildings, and invites viewers to take notice of it as they pass by, rather than being viewed for long periods of time.Midsummer Carnival Shaft, (sculpture).
Retrieved 13 December 2011.

Artist

Alfred C. Clas was born in Sauk City, Wisconsin in 1860. As Clas was a local architect and city planner at the time, he was a good choice to create the publicly-located sculpture.
Retrieved 13 December 2011. Clas was also a partner of a local architecture firm

Ferry & Clas Ferry & Clas was an architectural firm in Wisconsin. It designed many buildings that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. George Bowman Ferry (1851 - 1918) and Alfred Charles Clas (1859 - 1942) were partners. The partners ...

. The two architects were responsible for much of the city planning and development that was happening at the time." Alfred C. Clas" Retrieved 13 December 2011. Clas was a member of City Park Board, and designed the Milwaukee Auditorium and other public buildings. The City of Milwaukee commemorated a park in Clas's name in appreciation of his work as a city planner. Alfred C. Clas Park is located in Milwaukee County, just off N. 9th St and Wells St (Latitude: 43.0405556, Longitude: -87.9238889).(county parks).
Retrieved 13 December 2011.

References

{{MilwaukeePublicArt Outdoor sculptures in Milwaukee 1900 sculptures Monuments and memorials in Wisconsin History of Milwaukee Articles containing video clips Limestone sculptures in Wisconsin 1900 establishments in Wisconsin