Returns to Main Street at Monon Greenway with fresh coat of paint
One of Carmel’s most beloved sidewalk statues featuring Officer Carey is back in place on Main Street at the Monon Greenway after spending a few months getting repaired and repainted.
Professional artists at the Seward Johnson Atelier, from which the city obtained that and the other Seward Johnson statues, repaired a damaged antenna on the officer’s handheld radio, then removed and replaced the paint and seal before returning it last week.
The statue is officially named “Oh It’s You, Welcome.” Street Department crews installed the statue back in its original place on Wednesday.
The bronze statue pays honor to Deputy Constable William Frank Carey of the Carmel Police Department, who was shot and killed in the line of duty on June 8, 1900. Officer Carey is the only Carmel police officer to have been killed while on duty. He was only 32 years old and had worked for Carmel Police for a year before he was killed by a traveling evangelist known as “Cyclone Johnson,” who had a history of assaulting anyone who disagreed with his preaching.
This is not the first time Officer Carey has needed more than just a paint job. In November 2016, he was heavily damaged by a hit-and-run driver and had to be repaired by the Atelier. At that time, they switched to a new sealant, which had started to “gum up” in certain places, prompting the need to replace the sealant this year. There was no cost to the City of Carmel for the repaint and reseal, only for the repairs to the antenna.
All Seward Johnson statues throughout the city are repainted on a regular basis by Street Department members who have received special training at the Seward Johnson Atelier.