Missing Art of the Metroplex - What Happened to the Hands of God?


UPDATE:  On October 6th, 2017, the Dallas Morning News announced it was moving it's headquarters to the former Dallas Library which had been vacant since 1982. The building is part of the Statler Hotel redevelopment project across from the Main Street Gardens.
   I thought this would be an appropriate time to remember the 'Hands of God' statue that once graced the Library. The brackets of the statue are still visible on the building. But what happened to the sculpture?  Our story from 2011.

What happened to this man's statue that once adorned the outside of the Dallas Public Library? 

   Downtown Dallas recently received a bit of excellent news. The 1950's era Statler Hotel, which sits vacant across from the new Main Street Garden, was recently purchased for renovation. The building, which was on the National Trust for Historic Preservation's Most Endangered List, will now be renovated, adding another completed piece to the Downtown puzzle.

  Part of the sale included the neighboring abandoned building, the mid century modern structure which was once  the site of the Dallas Public Library. The library, designed by noted Dallas architect George Dahl was left vacant after the library moved to its current site across from City Hall in 1982.

The old library on the left, the Statler Hotel to the right


  When the original library was built in 1956 on the corner of Commerce and Harwood, noted artist Marshall Fredericks was commissioned to supply a sculpture to capture the essence of the new facility. His idea, a boy supported by the hands of God, holding a book and reaching upwards.



   However, the library board was taken aback when the original drawings of the artwork featured a boy in all his pureness. (In other words, naked) The board requested changes, and the boy was redone, shirtless but with pants. (some may say that this was creepy in a new and different way).

   Frederick's massive aluminum sculpture (seen above) adorned the library's outer wall until it closed in 1983. When the facility was moved, the library's director declined to take the Hands to the new library, still embarrassed over the city ordered modifications, feeling that it was a poor compromise of Fredericks original vision.

   The building was sold and the new owners took possession of the artwork. Sadly, the owner defualted on the mortgage and passed ownership of the building and sculpture back to the bank. Then in late 1993, the bank failed. The sculpture and the old library then passed to the FDIC.

   If you walk by the building today, which is located on the southeast side of Main Street Gardens, you can see the giant brackets that once held the Hands of God. A ghostly outline appears where the statue once hung. What happened to the sculpture?


The brackets and the faded outline on the outside of the old library.

   In 1993, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation offered the Hands back to the city for a mere $20,000. The city declined the offer, stating that it didn't have the funds to move and maintain the sculpture after the purchase.

   Meanwhile, the sculptur, Marshall Fredericks, in his 80's and with his health failing, fearing that the building would be be torn down and the Hands lost forever, asked his namesake museum to purchase the piece. Today, Youth in the Hands of God can be found at the Marshall Fredericks Museum in Saginaw, Michigan along with a variety of other Fredericks pieces. The Hands, seen below, sits safely outside the main gallery.

The sculpture in it's new home in Saginaw , Michigan

More Missing Art of the Metroplex:  







Enjoy My Blog?  Check out my book,



"What a surprise! . . .a page-turner . . . extremely well-written and well researched. . . I highly recommend this book to all mystery lovers . . . a great read. . . couldn't wait to find out what would happen next . . . I love a book you can't put down, and this certainly fit the bill . . . very engaging . . .  I really couldn't stop reading it . . . a fantastic and completely believable story"

                                                       Reviews From Amazon.com Readers


Ruins of the Metroplex: Signs of our Past

   I love when I find an old building that still sports a remnant of it's past, in the form of signage. Especially the classic white letters painted on a black background over brick or metal. 

   Here is a collection of signs of our past, some left by their new owners, others just left to the ravages of time. 


Located at Northwest highway in Dallas near Plano Road. This sign spans the entrance of the old parking lot. Penny Whistle Park was an indoor amusement park that featured rides for very young children 


I spotted this on an renovated building next to Gilley's  in Dallas' Cedars neighborhood.  The Chase Bag Company is long gone but it's sign was left by the current owners. 



Found on Jefferson Ave in Oak Cliff, the recently closed Oak Cliff Hardware, whose sign was reused from a previous furniture store. 





From the Cedars neighborhood just south of downtown. This renovated property kept the Piggly Wiggly and Hotel Sign for their project. 



The Atlas Metal Works in West Dallas at the corner of Sylvan and Singleton. This building is still in use, but the natural decay of their signage often leads motorists to think it's an abandoned property .

In downtown Dallas, between the Convention Center and Union Station, this office building still advertises for it's original tenant

This rooftop bar on Denton not only overlooks the Courthouse Square, it also overlooks the old Evers Hardware sign on the building next door

Spotted on Main Street in Deep Ellum, Carson Warehouse can still be read on the ever fading signage.






Enjoy My Blog?  Check out my book,



"What a surprise! . . .a page-turner . . . extremely well-written and well researched. . . I highly recommend this book to all mystery lovers . . . a great read. . . couldn't wait to find out what would happen next . . . I love a book you can't put down, and this certainly fit the bill . . . very engaging . . .  I really couldn't stop reading it . . . a fantastic and completely believable story"

                                                       Reviews From Amazon.com Readers