Have you seen the musical sculptures in downtown Macon? Here’s the story behind them

People can enjoy music or create it themselves in downtown Macon with the addition of new sculptures installed in Turpin Park.

The Downtown Macon Community Association celebrated the opening of the Downtown Macon Music Sculpture Park on Nov. 14.

“There’s one thing that brings everyone together and that’s music, and Macon is such a musically-inclined town. It just kind of made sense,” Scott Mitchell, chair of the Downtown Macon Community Association, said. “It just seemed like a really good fit for downtown Macon.”

The park, located in the middle of Third Street between Poplar and Plum streets, was funded through a grant from the Downtown Challenge Fund of the Community Foundation of Central Georgia, Mitchell said.

He completed the application after visiting Columbus, Georgia, and seeing musical sculptures in Woodruff Riverfront Park.

“We really wanted to make it safe, comfortable and a clean environment for people to enjoy,” Mitchell said.

The downtown Macon park is made up of 13 instruments including drums and xylophones. The grant was also used to fund additional benches and make aesthetic changes to the park.

“This project was truly a team effort between DMCA, Parks and Beautification, and Public Works,” said Michael Glisson, director of Macon-Bibb Parks and Beautification, in a release. “The Downtown Macon Music Sculpture Park is a fun and unique addition to our downtown artwork collection.”

Although three of the sculptures were knocked down due to a single-car crash Monday night, Mitchell said they are working to get them replaced as quickly as possible.