Doc Watson Statue, Boone
This statue commemorates the Grammy Award-winning artist and Watauga County (Deep Gap) native Arthel Lane "Doc" Watson. It is located at the Northeast corner of North Depot and West King streets in downtown Boone, N.C and depicts Watson sitting on a bench, playing a model of his favorite guitar, a customized Gallagher.
Doc Watson / “Just one of the People."
City of Boone / Downtown Boone Development Center
June 24th, 2011
36.218750 , -81.683960
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"Bluegrass Legend Doc Watson Dies at Age 89." World Music Central, May 30, 2012. (accessed February 10, 2014). Link
"Doc Watson Sculpture to be Unveiled Friday!" Bluegrass News, (accessed February 10, 2014). Link
"Doc Watson, 'Just One of the People,'" The Mast Farm Inn, (accessed February 19, 2014). Link
Oakes, Anna. "Doc Watson Celebration at Jones House." The Watauga Democrat (Boone, NC) June 06, 2012, (accessed February 10, 2014). Link
Wood, Jesse. "Legend Becomes Landmark." High Country Press (Boone, NC), June 16, 2011, (accessed February 10, 2014). Link
Yes
Cast Bronze
Downtown Boone Development Association (DBDA), The Mast Farm Inn
$50,000
The monument was dedicated on June 6, 2011, following a special dedication concert, during which Doc Watson and fellow musicians performed on the front porch of the Jones House Community Center, located two blocks form the statue itself. The concert was held in collaboration with the Watauga County Arts Council. Concert performers included Clint Howard, David Holt, Charles Welch, and Wayne Henderson, musicians who played with Watson at different times during his career.
The statue is located at a diagonal to Boone Drug, the town’s oldest drug store, where Watson began busking in his early twenties at the beginning of his musical career.
The statue is located at 642 W King St (at N. Depot St.), Boone, NC 28607. It stands in front of the di Santi Watson Capua & Wilson Law Firm building, and is positioned directly East from the Mast General Store. John Cooper, owner and operator of downtown Boone’s Mast General Store, initiated the memorial project.
The memorial sits on one hundred and fifty bricks, purchased by sponsors of the monument, and bearing inscriptions of favorite Doc Watson song lyrics, memories, the name of the sponsor and the year.
Many visitors to Boone take photos with the statue, especially following concerts at the nearby Jones House, a restored cultural center and home to the Watauga Arts Council.
The di Santi and Watson Law Firm granted approval to place the memorial in front of their building. Although John Cooper of Deep Gap, North Carolina, conceived the project, it was initiated in collaboration with the Downtown Boone Development Association. A special committee was formed during its planning, and John Cooper served as the joint Project Chair, along with Mary Baker, Executive Director of the Downtown Boone Development Association.
According to the Downtown Boone Development Association, there is a contingency plan and a public fund held for statue repairs and maintenance.
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