Landmarks
The Sundial at Felicity
The gnomon of the 15
ft. Sundial at Felicity is a three-dimensional bronze of Michelangelo's Arm of God
painted on the Sistine Chapel ceiling. The arm was sculpted and cast in bronze in New
England. The rock is local but the installation required the assistance of a mining
engineer and a special drill. The bronze Roman numerals give the time. A sundial is
precisely accurate once a year and this was set at noon on Christmas Day. The arm
points to the Church on the Hill at Felicity built in 2006.
The Hill
of Prayer , site of the Church, was built in January 2002 by moving 150,000 tons of earth
(engineered to
earthquake zone 4 specifications). The church will remain the
highest point in the Town of Felicity now and in the future.
Sculpture
at Entrance
The 25
ft. high section number 12 of the original stairway of the Eiffel Tower is the
entrance sculpture at Felicity. In 1983, the Government of France removed
approximately 500 ft. of the original stairway. Built with the technology of the 1860's,
the weight of approximately 54,000 lbs. was causing sway at the top of the then 94 year
old tower. Twenty sections were sold at auction on the tower on 1 December 1983. Most are
in museums and a few in private hands. Section 12 was bought at auction in June 1989 at
the Chateau de Cheverny. The installation of the 6,600 lb. section required engineering
and a building permit. It serves no practical purpose, but is part of the
spirit of Felicity.
The Felicity Post Office
The Felicity Post
Office was dedicated on 5 December 1987 at a time when thousands of small post offices
were being eliminated as an economy measure. The town, whose population
then numbered two, saw
over 2,300 letters mailed that day. The dedication ceremony was highlighted by a speech in
Chinese by Consul Zhou of the Peoples Republic of China who traveled 600 miles for
the occasion. It is operated by the town at a cost to the Federal
Government of one dollar per year. Twenty uncashed one dollar checks are
on file. |