It’s been 18 years since Lex Jackson purchased Jackson Square Shopping Center on Highway 45 in Columbus.
Through the years, Jackson and his wife, Judith, have brought changes to the property to enhance its appeal – both through new tenants to other, less commercial, flourishes designed to catch the eyes of those who travel down the Highway 45 North corridor, the city’s most developed retail area.
New arrivals such as Lost Pizza and Buffalo Wild Wings have created more traffic for the shopping center. But the latest addition is three wind sculptures, which the Jacksons erected in a small patch of grass in front of Sweet Pepper’s Deli.
The moving wind sculptures feature steel cups and blades which turn and capture light in even a light breeze.
“We put them up about a week ago,” Jackson said. “Since then, we’ve had a lot of people stop by, wanting to know where I got them. I’ve never seen them anywhere around here.”
The Jacksons purchased the sculptures from friends who own Handcrafted Interiors, an art gallery located in Pagosa Springs, Colorado.
“We bought one of them for our home about five or six years ago,” Jackson said. “We liked it so much and it was so different that when we went out to see our friends in Colorado, we thought we would buy another to put up at the shopping center. We wound up buying three of them, we liked them so much.”
The addition of the sculptures might be considered a finishing touch on the Jacksons’ efforts to improve the shopping center.
“Over the years, we’ve gone through a lot of remodeling, so I thought it was time to bring in something for artistic reasons,” Jackson said. “We’re pretty well set with tenants, so this is really just something to catch people’s eyes, anything to bring people into the shopping center.”
More specifically, Jackson hopes the sculptures will create more traffic for Reed’s Department Store, which he owns and operates.
“I always tell people that if you’re going to open a store in a shopping center, you should find one where the property owner also has a store,” Jackson said. “That way, you know he has a stake in keeping the shopping center in good shape.”
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
READER FAVORITES
Related Photos
Judith Jackson
