The Park

In 2008, Rebecca Staebler purchased the parking lot adjacent to the 1910 building she had restored three years earlier, and which is home to her contemporary craft and gift gallery, HUBBUB. Inspired in part by Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi,” she dreamed of putting up a paradise. A chance encounter with local sculptor Bill Wilson in 2011 was the beginning of the adventure to create a sculpture garden on North Tower Avenue. 

Nestled in what could one day become the Hub City’s “art district,” the privately funded park is a work in progress. The community is invited to come and sit a spell. And if the chalk is out, feel free to create your own piece of art on the asphalt walkways! If you would like to be a Friend of HUB CAP, there are many opportunities. Please contact Rebecca at rebecca@hubbubshop.com or stop into HUBBUB.

“Spaces where the community can gather within an urban setting are important. And places where there is art that a community can enjoy is vital.”— Rebecca Staebler, owner HUBBUB, HUB CAP



The Rain Garden

In 2012, the City of Centralia chose the sidewalk in the 100 block of Center Street to install an experimental rain garden. Rain gardens work as vegetated buffer strips that treat dirty runoff water before it reaches other water sources; in this case, China Creek. A “rain garden mix,” a porous mix containing sand and rocks that allows water to drain away, is used for the first 18 inches of soil; drain pipes channel street water away from catch basins and into the rain garden. The sidewalk itself is porous concrete, allowing rainwater to seep into the ground rather than flow into the gutter. We invite you to watch the garden grow, and to imagine and encourage such green spaces throughout our urban area.

The Artist

Bill Wilson is a teacher and self-taught artist. His work covers 20 years of exploration in artistically reclaiming cast-off steel. In the 1960s and 70s, he worked in machine shops. This left a lasting impression on him and in the following ten years geometry was the key to everything he created. Bill uses recycled materials in his work because of the cost and availability. He enjoys the surface texture of these materials. The three sculptures in the HUB City Art Park are created from large cast-off propane tanks.