Unique sculpture at top of Mount Pisgah is perfect spot to enjoy the summer solstice

This is the first in an occasional series of columns looking at the history of Lane County.

Did you know there is a place in Lane County that was explicitly built to be enjoyed during the summer and winter solstices?

At the summit of Mount Pisgah stands the “Solstice Pedestal,” a bronze sculpture conceived by author Ken Kesey and sculptor Pete Helzer and installed in 1990.  

It has two slots that align to pass sunlight through precisely at the times of the summer and winter solstice.

If you climb up in the early morning hours of June 20 — the summer solstice — or at sunset when the weather is clear, you can see it for yourself. The sculpture has a bas-relief of the surrounding mountains on the top, and a depiction of the fossil history of the area around the sides.  

I sat down with Helzer recently to learn a little more about the sculpture (answers have been edited for space and clarity).

After all the time building the sculpture, what was it like seeing a solstice there the first time?

The first time I saw the sun break through the slots, it was December, and Mount Pisgah had picked up a couple of inches of snow overnight and the sky had cleared by daybreak. It was breathtaking, and also a big relief to know our calculations were correct.

What was Ken Kesey’s vision for this?

He wanted to commemorate the lives of his son Jed Kesey and Lorenzo West, the two University of Oregon wrestlers who died in the tragic accident on an icy highway in Eastern Washington in 1984. He wanted to put a bronze sighting pedestal on Mount Pisgah similar to the Dee Wright Observatory on the McKenzie Pass.

The basic idea of any sighting pedestal is to locate the viewer in a particular landscape.  I decided to add the dimension of time by depicting the succession of plants and animals that once occupied this land we call Oregon. 

I got a lot of help from University of Oregon professors Bill Orr, David Wagner, and Gordon Goles. Cartographer Peter Eberhardt provided the maps used in sculpting the top section.  The physics department provided the coordinates for the summer and winter solstice.

How much time did you spend on the design compared to the creation?  

I worked on the design for about a year, which involved gathering information because at the start of the project, I didn’t have a background in geology or paleontology. I spent the next three years sculpting, casting and finishing the bronze. It was cast in 53 sections and welded together by Rick Sprague of Pleasant Hill.

What do you remember about Ken Kesey’s reaction?  

When asked to explain what the piece was about, he said, “It’s about the impermanence of life and the infinity on either side of it.”

How did you design the fossils on the side?  

I started by reading Bill and Elizabeth Orr’s “Handbook of Oregon Plant and Animal Fossils.” I spent hours sketching the Condon Collections at the U of O. Partway through the project, I met my wife, Marge, who had a background in paleobotany. I credit her with coaching me through the last couple of years of the project.

What was the hardest part?

Working on a very tight budget. The project was funded by donations. We had enough to buy the bronze, but not much more.

How does this rank among all of your work?

It’s one of my favorite pieces. It’s very different from my other sculptures. It’s held up well, at least for the last 35 years.

How has Mount Pisgah changed since the installation?  

I love the way the park has improved over the years. In the 1980s, there were still cattle grazing on Mount Pisgah. There were a few rutted trails and lots of blackberries. Only 20 to 30 people hiked to the top on a sunny day. Today, the park is 2,200 acres with seventeen miles of trails. An estimated 1,000 people a day enjoy the park.

Peter Helzer has produced more than two hundred works of art for parks, plazas, and public spaces in the Pacific Northwest. His work primarily consists of interactive bronze sculptures that range from figurative to whimsical to architectural. He met Kesey’s family while coaching Jed Kesey on the Pleasant Hill High School wrestling team. Kesey, a graduate of the University of Oregon, is the author of several books, including “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.”