Giant rocket sculpture coming to J Street outside remodeled convention center

'We have Lift Off,' a giant rocket sculpture that lights up at night, will soon be a new focal point for J Street outside the renovated SAFE Credit Union Convention Center. The Sacramento City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday, April 6 to authorize $750,000 for the sculpture, which is being created by artists James and Einar De La Torre of San Diego. It's part of the City's Art in Public Places Program, which requires that at least 2 percent of the total construction costs for publicly financed facilities go toward public art.

The whimsical piece, which will stand 34 feet tall outside the convention center at 13th and J streets, is intended to embody the positive spirit of Sacramento. At night, it will light up, projecting shapes of flora and fauna from the Sacramento River on the convention center walls.

De La Torre brothers