Drivers circling the roundabout at Congress Parkway and Exchange Drive in Crystal Lake woke up this week to a new landmark: a transparent stainless-steel globe, studded with bronze fish and a sailboat, rising from a stone pedestal at the center of the traffic circle. The $50,000 sculpture, created by longtime local artist Erik Blome, marks the city's first city-funded public art piece.
The installation happened in the early morning hours of Friday, October 30, 2026, according to Shaw Local, which published photos of the piece going up at the roundabout, with the image credited to Erik Blome. The sculpture measures 14 by 8 feet and was expected to take about a year to complete once the project was approved, the outlet previously reported. It was cast at Blome's bronze foundry and studio in Woodstock using 316 marine-grade stainless steel sourced from Chicago Metal Corporation.
Blome, who has lived in Crystal Lake since 2002, has built a career crafting bronze work displayed around the world. His past commissions include an over-life-size bronze bust of Jean-Baptiste Pointe DuSable for Chicago's Magnificent Mile in 2009 and a 13-foot-tall cast-bronze and stainless-steel globe sculpture, titled Peace, for the Mount Prospect Public Library in 2007. He earned a B.F.A. in Fine Art from the University of Michigan and an M.F.A. in sculpture from Boston University, according to his artist website.
A First-of-Its-Kind Project for the City's Arts Commission
The sculpture was the first recommendation from Crystal Lake's Public Arts Commission to advance all the way to a City Council vote, the commission's own page notes. The Public Arts Commission, made up of seven volunteer Crystal Lake residents appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the council, recommended the Congress Parkway and Exchange Drive roundabout as the artwork's home.
The City Council approved the project in a 5-1 vote in 2025. The sculpture consumed the commission's entire annual budget.
More Sculptures, and a Comparable Project in Woodstock
Crystal Lake isn't the only McHenry County city investing in roundabout art. Neighboring Woodstock allocated $30,000 toward its own $55,000 sculpture project along Route 14, with the city fundraising from private donors to cover the rest, Shaw Local previously reported. Blome has his own history with that city too, having been commissioned to create a groundhog statue and bench for Woodstock, along with other local work including a statue at ComEd offices and busts displayed in the Raue Center for the Arts.
Why the Roundabout, and What's Next on Congress Parkway
Congress Parkway currently hosts two of the city's roundabouts, at Exchange Drive and Federal Drive, according to the City of Crystal Lake, which notes that roundabouts reduce overall collisions by 39% and cut fatal crashes by 90% compared with signalized intersections while boosting traffic capacity by 30% to 50%. The corridor could see even more traffic in the years ahead, as Congress Parkway may become a more popular thoroughfare if residential developments continue to be built along the road.
The City Council has also approved the purchase of the long-shuttered Northwestern Medicine Health and Fitness Center at 200 Congress Parkway, with plans to convert the building into a community center. Blome told Shaw Local the sculpture was installed early Friday, October 30, 2026, bringing to life a project the Public Arts Commission first set in motion more than a year earlier.
