Will Carry Nation sculpture stare down Wichita drinkers?

The Wichita City Council on Tuesday accepted a donation of a life-size sculpture of Carry Nation, the ax-wielding prohibitionist who once trashed a downtown Wichita hotel bar – but not before having a little fun with the concept.

The bronze statue will be placed somewhere in the vicinity of Eaton Place, an apartment building in the former Carey Hotel, which Nation famously attacked in December 1900 as part of her crusade to rid the nation of alcohol.

Mayor Jeff Longwell joked that the statue could put a damper on some social activities in that area.

“There may be some concern that the Wagonmasters won’t be able to hold their drinking event down there, with Carry Nation staring at them,” Longwell said.

“Hasn’t stopped us before,” replied council member Bryan Frye.

“I’m going to be out of town in a couple weeks, can we take this up then?” interjected council member Pete Meitzner.

The bronze statue stands 6 feet tall, the actual height of Nation. Nation’s name was originally spelled “Carrie,” but she changed it to Carry A. Nation believing she was ordained to “carry a nation” to sobriety.

The statue was sculpted by artist Babs Mellor and donated to the city by her and J. Eric Engstrom, according to a city report.

The council also accepted a sculpture of a Tyrannosaurus rex donated by the Museum of World Treasures. That metal sculpture, made from scrapped auto parts, will be placed in front of the museum as an attention-getter.

One of the museum’s centerpiece attractions is a fossilized T-rex skeleton dubbed “Ivan.”

The sculpted T-Rex was created by Phil Brinkley of Jurassic Art, a Rose Hill studio specializing in metal sculptures of dinosaurs.

This story was originally published October 17, 2017 at 6:52 PM with the headline "Will Carry Nation sculpture stare down Wichita drinkers?."