Civic Center's granite pylons mark time

Updated April 30, 2019
Civic Center's granite pylons mark time
When the Civic Center was built in 2002, an immense work of art was installed to embrace the face of the new building. 23 granite structures span the length of the property, and more importantly, the history of our city. We're taking a look at that history during Roseville's 110th anniversary.

Civic Center Pano, April 2019

The “Walk through Time” presents a statement about the passage of time and defines the permanence of the City. The pylons stand in pairs, each as a stone guardian of our municipality. The members of our community who pass between these gatekeepers each day work to make our city a dynamic place to live, love, and work.

Granite Pylon and RotundaEach pylon stands almost 10 feet tall, weighing nearly four tons. Upon an inner-facing surface of each pair is a year, hand-chiseled into the locally-quarried granite; gold leaf highlights these numbers.







Civic Center PylonsThe space between each pair represents a forty-year span of time. Collectively these pylons represent four hundred years in our city’s timeline – looking back two-hundred years into our past, then two-hundred years into our future.

Granite Bolders
The three stone boulders on the southern end of the time wall represent this area, now known as Roseville, before recorded history. The first pylon is dated 1840, with each succeeding set of towers marking another forty-year increment.






The pylon in the middle of the display, bearing the year 2000, is centered on the rotunda (the Civic Center was dedicated in 2002). The dates continue out to the north end of the property ending in the year 2200. Extra room is available to addition pylons in the future.

Pylon closeupThe placement of any additional pylons will be a decision to be made by a future City Council, that's about 90 elections from today.

At the base of the center pylon rest two time capsules. The first is the Centennial Time Capsule buried 100 years after our incorporation as a city. It is to be opened in 2059, 50 years after its dedication. The second Time Capsule will be unearthed in May of 2027. That will be one-quarter century after the Civic Center was opened in 2002.

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