Queens Gate 66 - a collaborative project by artists Amie Jacobsen and Jake Balcom.
Size: 23’T x 28’W x 6’D
Materials: Stainless Steel, Cast Class, Acrylic, Stee, Paint, LED lighting.
Commissioned by the City of Springfield, Missouri—the Queen City of the Ozarks—the sculpture marks the 100-year anniversary of Route 66 historic highway while extending its meaning forward.
At its center is the “corona,” a radiant form that reads as both crown and rising/setting sun. Its colors draw from sunrise and sunset. It represents the passage of time across a century of travel. The piece is aligned east to west, following both the movement of the sun and the trajectory of the road. The sunburst resolves into a crown—an acknowledgment of Springfield’s identity as “Queen City of the Ozark’s”—and gives the work its name.
Two sweeping arches rise and cross through the corona, passing one another in motion—an echo of travelers moving in opposite directions, continuously exchanging place, perspective, and story.
Within the structure, engraved stainless steel panels trace iconic Route 66 landmarks from Missouri and across the United States, giving visitors a place to pause and reflect.
This work was carried by many hands. We’re deeply grateful to our many team mates for the care, precision, and commitment they brought to every stage of the process.
Special thanks to:
@wallacedesigncollective for their assistance in engineering these large pieces.
@crown_glass_pains • Monarch Glass (Kansas City) for the hand-blown laminated glass within the corona
@standard_sheet_metal• Standard Sheet Metal (Kansas City) for their work fabricating the large arches
And to the City of Springfield—thank you for the trust, support, and belief in what this could become.
