Special Event

“Pillars of Mindful Creation:” The Second Life of Front Street’s Legacy Cypress Tree

Village Theatre’s Francis J. Gaudette theatre has stood on Front Street in Issaquah since 1994, and for most of those years a giant Cypress tree stood in front of the building. Now, the Legacy Cypress lives on, fashioned into a beautiful and unique abstract sculpture titled “Pillars of Mindful Creation”.

The Legacy Cypress was one of the oldest Cypress trees in Washington state when it was removed in the fall of 2017. Unfortunately, this historic Cypress had to be taken down because it was rotting from the center and in danger of collapsing under its own weight.

Village Theatre wanted to honor the life of the tree and decided to give it new life by transforming it into a wood sculpture that could become part of historic downtown Issaquah, just like the original tree was a beloved part of Front Street. The bottom 14 feet of the tree were retained for this purpose.

In the fall of 2021, once the tree had been cured enough for a large-scale, carved artwork, Village Theatre contracted Jacob Lucas, an artist from Bonney Lake who is well-known for his large wood carvings, to create this unique piece of art.

With “Pillars of Mindful Creation,” Jacob honored the life of the tree as well as the legacy of our founding Executive Producer, Robb Hunt, with its three branches forever representing the three pillars of Village Theatre’s programming: Mainstage, New Works, and Youth Education.

This piece creates a wonderful and welcoming entryway into downtown Issaquah, now a designated Washington State Creative Arts District.

 

 

To see more of Jacob Lucas’ work, visit his website!