"The What?" The Granite Trio.
I have spoken with people who have lived here a long time and they do not recognize the name, they will recognize what I am talking about though after I say that it is the name of those 3 large granite boulders in downtown St Cloud behind Herbergers on Saint Germain St.
Actually they are no longer boulders, The Granite Trio is a work of art. The trio of large boulders were cut and then moved on site into downtown St Cloud in 1973. Working on the granite stones for 2 months with passers-by watching they were carved and worked into what you see today by the artist Anthony Caponi.
Mr Caponi was selected from artists who submitted plans for what was to be "a large participatory sculpture." The granite for the sculpture is from the Moonlight Grey Quarry in Rockville, one of the Cold Spring Granite Company's granite quarries. The project was originally set to be the crown jewel in the 3 block long downtown St Cloud mall which has now been removed. Thankfully the trio remain.
Each of the 3 individual sculptures that make up The Granite Trio has it's own name. The Castle is the largest piece in the sculpture with 2 very weighty oval shaped horizontal sections and 2 more squared off supportive vertical sections. The Sentinal aptly named as it looks from the street like it is keeping watch, is as tall as The Castle but narrow, long and solid. Then there is The Jewel Stone, this is the smallest of the 3 pieces in the sculpture, but look at the details and you will understand why this one got it's name.
So the next time you are downtown St Cloud MN, don't just walk by those "big granite boulders" stop for a second or longer and take in this work of sculptural art, participate in its existance, that is why it was placed there. William Towner Morgan author of Earth, Wood, Stone Central Minnesota Lives and Landmarks wrote of the Trio "St. Cloud should be proud to have its urban setting graced with this monumental artistic work." and we agree.
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