A new piece of public art has bloomed in the West Central neighborhood after crews worked Wednesday to place a sculpture along West Jefferson Boulevard.

Designed by Cary Shafer, "Amaryllis" stands nearly 30 feet tall and required a crane to lift pieces into place at the center of a triangle of land also bordered by Swinney Park Place and Garden Street.

The area across Jefferson from Swinney Tennis Center has been transformed this summer from a grassy, blank canvas to a pedestrian space with paved walkways so the sculpture can be admired up close from all sides. The sculpture will be lit from the bottom.

The city has plans to plant trees and bushes, and regrade the land to sidewalk level, said Mark Paul Smith, president of the Hemphill Smith Art Foundation and husband of the late Jody He

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