Two public monuments honoring civil rights history along East Rosedale Street in Fort Worth were left banged up in separate hit-and-run crashes, and now the nonprofit that oversees the city's public art is scrambling to figure out repairs and who is footing the bill. In one wreck, a car plowed into a carousel-themed roundabout and knocked a hand-painted parrot clean off its perch. In the other, a driver crunched the front of a bus-shaped monument that pays tribute to public transit's role in the civil-rights movement.
What was hit
According to NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth, the April crash sent a vehicle over the curb and into the roundabout at East Rosedale and Mitchell Boulevard, taking out steel poles and knocking one of the installation's bright, hand-painted parrots to the ground. Staff with Arts Fort Worth salvaged the broken bird and moved it into storage while conservators and fabricators assess what it will take to restore the carousel piece to its original look.
Bus monument damaged months earlier
The East Rosedale Monument Project, a repurposed 1970s bus by local artist Christopher Blay, took a hit months earlier. The front bumper of the bus sculpture was damaged in a hit-and-run in early November, as reported by KERA News. Dedicated to the city on Feb. 1, 2025, the piece will not be a simple fix. Public art staff say they will need to track down a suitable donor vehicle and bring in specialist fabricators to rebuild the damaged front end so the work matches the artist's original design, per Fort Worth Public Art.
Costs, city review and timeline
Arts Fort Worth officials say early estimates indicate repairs for the two damaged works will run well into the thousands of dollars. The nonprofit plans to send documentation of the crashes and damage to the city's risk management department, which will determine whether the costs can be covered by Fort Worth's self-insured system or must come out of the public art program's budget, NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth reported. So far, there is no firm timetable for when either monument will be fully repaired and back to normal.
Protection and community response
In the wake of the crashes, Arts Fort Worth staff say they have been in talks with the city's Transportation and Public Works Department about adding bollards or other barriers around the roundabout to help shield the artwork from future wayward drivers. Artist Christopher Blay has also urged the city to consider setting up a rapid-response repair fund so that damaged public art is not left in limbo for months at a time. KERA News reports that the organization retrieved the shattered parrot and that managers are stressing how each piece is highly custom, which means specialist conservators will be needed to preserve the intent and details of the original works.
City officials say updates and progress on the repairs will be posted on the Fort Worth Public Art pages, and the rescued parrot will stay in storage until funding and contractors are locked in, according to Fort Worth Public Art. Anyone with information about the incidents is urged to contact Arts Fort Worth or local law enforcement.
