Civic Center's granite pylons mark time

Updated April 30, 2019
 Civic Center's granite pylons mark time

When the Roseville Civic Center was built in 2002, an immense work of art was installed to embrace the face of the new building. 23 granite structures span the length of the property, and more importantly, the history of our city. We're taking a look at that history during Roseville's 110th anniversary

Civic center pano

Roseville’s “Walk through Time” presents a statement about the passage of time and defines the permanence of our City. The pylons stand in pairs, each as a stone guardian of our municipality. The members of our community who pass between these gatekeepers each day work to make Roseville a dynamic place to live, love, and work.

Civic Center PylonsThe pylons stand almost 10 feet tall, each weighing nearly four tons. Upon the inner-facing surface of each pair is a year, hand-chiseled into the locally-quarried granite; gold leaf highlights these numbers. 






Years cut into pylonsThe space between each pair represents a forty-year span of time. Collectively these pylons represent four hundred years in our city’s timeline – looking back two-hundred years into our past, then two-hundred years into our future.



Boulders in time wallThe three stone boulders on the southern end of the time wall represent this area, now known as Roseville, before recorded history. The first pylon is dated 1840, with each succeeding set of towers marking another forty-year increment.






The pylon in the middle of the display, bearing the year 2000, is centered on the rotunda (the Civic Center was dedicated in 2002). The dates continue out to the north end of the property ending in the year 2200. Extra room is available to addition pylons in the future.

The placement of any additional pylons will be a decision to be made by a future City Council. That's probably about 90 elections from today.

Close up of granite pylon

At the base of the center pylon rest two time capsules. The first is the Centennial Time Capsule buried 100 years after our incorporation as a city. It is to be opened in 2059, 50 years after its dedication. The second Time Capsule will be unearthed in May of 2027. That will be one-quarter century after the Civic Center was opened in 2002.