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All the United States New Mexico Albuquerque Pueblo Montaño Chainsaw Sculpture Garden
AO Edited

Pueblo Montaño Chainsaw Sculpture Garden

When life gave this firefighter a forest fire, he made a rough-hewn sculpture park using a chainsaw.

Albuquerque, New Mexico

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Eirik Gumeny
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One has to include the state bird, the roadrunner!   CorpseLady84 / Atlas Obscura User
Firefighter Standing Atop a Dragon   E. Gumeny
Eagle Rising from Flames   E. Gumeny
Coyotes   E. Gumeny
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About

After a fire ravaged the landscape along the Paseo del Bosque trail in Albuquerque, New Mexico, firefighter Mark Chavez did what anyone in his position would do: he picked up his chainsaw and made some art.

The Paseo del Bosque trail is a 16-mile multi-use trail running through the heart of the city, along the forested banks of the Rio Grande. In 2003, teenagers playing with fireworks inadvertently sparked a wildfire that spread to over 250 acres, causing numerous evacuations and untold damage to the lands and trails along the riverfront. Chavez, one of the firefighters who helped to put out the blaze, looked over the charred husks of cottonwood trees that were left and decided to do something about it.

A chainsaw artist in his free time, Chavez went to work sculpting the dead trees into symbols honoring both the natural beauty of the Southwest and the fire itself. Sculptures include an eagle rising from flames, coyotes, beavers, a roadrunner, La Llorona (the "ditch witch" of Mexican folklore), and a firefighter standing upon a slain dragon— "dragon" being fireman slang for an especially bad fire.

The sculpture garden resides in the Pueblo Montaño trailhead of the Paseo del Bosque, surrounded by picnic tables, redeveloping flora, and some of the very same wildlife Chavez carved into the cottonwoods.

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Sculptures Sculpture Gardens Outsider Art

Know Before You Go

Sculpture Garden is within the Pueblo Montaño Picnic Area and Trailhead, located just off Montaño Road, east of Coors Boulevard and west of the river. Driveway/parking lot is opposite Winter Haven Rd.Dogs on leash are welcome in the sculpture garden and on the trail. Poop bag stations are also provided.

Community Contributors

Added By

Eirik Gumeny

Edited By

CorpseLady84, Collector of Experiences

  • CorpseLady84
  • Collector of Experiences

Published

August 10, 2015

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Sources
  • https://www.cabq.gov/parksandrecreation/documents/305.PDF
  • http://openspacealliance.org/where-is-open-space/bosque-north-destinations/pueblo-montano-picnic-area-sculpture-park/
  • http://www.bosquebill.com/photosPuebloMontano.html
Pueblo Montaño Chainsaw Sculpture Garden
4100-4112 Montaño Rd NW
Albuquerque, New Mexico, 87120
United States
35.14839, -106.683992
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