HAMILTON -The City of Sculpture board continues to reshape Hamilton into an arts community.

The group will move into a permanent downtown office in the Anthony Wayne, Hamilton's refurbished 1920s hotel that's now an apartment building.

The office will open the first week of May at 1 High St.

"We'll be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and be totally staffed with volunteers," board member Gerry Hammond said. "It's where our walking tours will begin. We'll have works on display and some for sale, although we won't be a gallery."

The board has set up a colorful Web site - www.cityofsculpture.org - showing most of the city's sculptures and locations.

The latest piece, "Pioneer Family" by Cincinnati artist Jarrett Hawkins, is on Monument Avenue downtown. It is a man carrying a hoe, representing agriculture, and a rifle, representing protection. Next to him, a woman carries a baby and a Bible.

Their faces were taken from a 25-year-old photograph of the donors, Dr. John A. Stewart and his wife, Marian Vail Stewart.

More donors and volunteers are needed to keep the sculpture program self-sustaining. The board points out that the program involves community education with public art placed on carefully chosen public sites. In addition, the program helps professional artists and fosters cultural tourism, which benefits the community.

Of about 50 pieces featured on the Web site, one of my favorites is "Wind Forest" by Utah artist Lyman Whitaker, at the Great Miami River dam overlook on Neilan Boulevard.

As the sculpture's pieces spin, he said, they provide "serenity in a world of confusion."

If you visit Hamilton Tuesday, stop at the Enquirer's town meeting from 6:30-8 p.m. in Hamilton City Council chambers at One Renaissance Center, 345 High St.

A sculpture will greet you out front.

BATAVIA - April 13 will be Historic Museum Day, when more than 10 sites will be open across Clermont County.

Museums to be open: Bonaventure (the Loveland Historical Museum), 201 Riverside Drive; The Anchorage (Goshen Township Historical Society Museum), on Ohio 28; Promont (Greater Milford Area Historical Society), 906 Main St.; the Owensville Historical Society, in village hall on Main Street (U.S. 50); Harmony Hill Association, Willow Street, Williamsburg; the Clermont County Historical Society, also in the Willow Street building; Historic New Richmond Inc., in the Ross-Gowdy House, 125 George St.; U.S. Grant Birthplace, U.S. 52, Point Pleasant; Bethel Historical Museum, in the Grant Memorial Building, at Main and Plane streets; the Old Bethel Methodist-Episcopal Church, on Ohio 125, Bantam; and the Morse House (Amelia Area Historical Museum), 44 Oak St.

Additional information: www.clermontcvb-ohio.com. Details: county historical society, 724-6222.

Send items to Randy McNutt at the Enquirer, 7700 Service Center Drive, West Chester OH 45069. Telephone: 755-4158. Fax: 755-4150. E-mail: Rmcnutt@enquirer.com.