Lamar Whidbee's new sculture in Dix Park honors the thousands of patients who sought help at Dix Hospital over the years. Photo: Courtesy of Dix Park Conservancy
The Dix Park Conservancy has installed a new sculpture in Dorothea Dix Park in Raleigh, part of a long-running effort to increase the amount of public-facing artwork in the 308-acre park.
The latest: The sculpture, called "Get Well Soon," is the first piece by Raleigh artist and licensed mental health counselor Lamar Whidbee.
The piece honors the history of Dix Park as home to the state's first psychiatric hospital, Dorothea Dix Hospital, and the thousands of patients who sought care there until 2000 when it was shut down.
The land for Dix Hospital, which is being used by the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services as offices until next year, is now owned by Raleigh, which is slowly adding park amenities.
The subject of the sculpture is Whidbee's daughter, who is holding a bouquet of flowers.
📍Find the mural on the side of the Spruill Building at 1100 Umstead Dr., Raleigh.
