The sculptured screen at the Trail City Hall entitled "City of Lead and Zinc", was created by Vancouver sculptor George A. Norris. This three-dimensional work uses lead and zinc figures and shapes symbolizing Trail and its people. According to the sculptor, "The whole design revolves around the belief that a City Hall's main function Is to provide services for the human and his habitation".
The sculpture was commissioned and donated to the City of Trail by Cominco Ltd. It measures nine feet by nine feet consists of an interior and exterior screen. It is located at the main entrance to City Hall in the downtown area of Trail. The work was created primarily from lead and zinc - the principal metal products of the City's major Industry -Cominco.
SCULPTOR GEORGE NORRIS DESCRIBES HIS WORK
"For the motif in lead I chose figures representing a few of the major human activities and services of the city. These appear on the exterior in a row along the top and they represent the family (a father, mother, and child), health and welfare (a nurse), youth and education (a student), recreation (a hockey player and lady curler), vocation (a chemist, and a metallurgical employee).
"For the motif in zinc I chose the houses that rise up on the hills around Trail. The supporting zinc screen beneath is a decorative representation of the city based on actual buildings in Trail. There of dowse, a fair degree of whimsy and fantasy in my interpretations and I sincerely hope that the people of Trail enjoy this free use of artistic license!
"Along the bottom one sees the houses of East Trail and then above this the Columbia River with its two bridges. Centrally located is the business district, then to the left and rising up to the lead figures, the houses of West Trail. On the right, are the Memorial Centre, the Trail Creek gulley and the steep banks which rise to the metallurgical plants with their great stacks - one of which rises to the very top of the screen.
“On the interior screen there are seven figures representing other important facets of life in Trail: a fisherman (recreation), a policeman (law and order), a power linemen (the importance of electric enter industrially and domestically), a musician (cultural), a gardener (home life and civic beautification) a clergyman (faiths of the people of Trail), and a secretary (the working women of Trail).
“The interior screen also carries tree clusters which symbolizes the verdancy of the area.”
HOW THE SCREEN WAS MADE
The screen was fabricated by cutting, bending and welding 18 gauge steel and 3/16” rod and overlaying welding beads as patterns. It was then hot-dip galvanized to give it a zinc finish and after the surface was burnished with steel wool, it was given an acrylic coating to protect the beauty of the bright zinc finish.
The figures were beaten out of 51 pound sheet lead: a galvanized frame was then inserted in the back of each. The figures were then backed with a polyester paste and the lead polished with a liquid wax.
ABOUT THE SCULPTOR
George Norris was born in Victoria. He was educated In Vancouver, and attended art school there. He studied sculpture in the United States under Ivan Mestrovic, the well-known Yugoslavian, and went to England for a year of further Studies through a British consul scholarship. Although Mr. Norris’s talent is based on the more traditional forms of the art, he now works in many mediums, such as stone, wood, concrete and various metals. He has taught sculpture at art school and the University of British Columbia, but his main interest is in the actual work. Examples of his talent may be seen at the University of British Columbia, at locations in Vancouver, at Nanaimo, Esquimalt and Kimberley, British Columbia.
OFFICIAL UNVEILING - DECEMBER 18, 1961
"City of Lead and Zinc" was unveiled December 18, 1961, by Mayor L.A. Read of Trail. The work was presented to the City on behalf of Cominco Ltd. by R.D. Perry, Vice-President and General Manager. Present on the occasion were the sculptor, members of the 1961 and 1962 City Councils and other civic officials, other representatives of Cominco, and Michael Weller for the firm of Smith and McCulloch, Architects.
SPONSORSHIP
The use of lead and zinc for this work of art is symbolic, because these metals are the foundation of the economy of Trail and the surrounding district. But their use is also unique - lead has been used for ornamentation for centuries, and many sculptured figures have been reproduced in zinc by the die casting method; however it is doubtful if these metals have ever before been combined in a work of art similar to the Trail screen.
The work is symbolic in another sense as well. For several years Camino Ltd. has conducted an aggressive research program toward developing new and better uses for lead and zinc. The work illustrates an Important point: lead and zinc are, indeed, useful and versatile metals.
Courtesy of City of Trail
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