Uncommon Friends is a sculpture depicting a seated Henry Ford, kneeling Harvey Firestone and reclining Thomas Edison gathered around a campfire on an island. Around the island are life-size sculptures of a mother alligator and her five babies, a mother manatee and her calf, sixteen fish, four floating lily pad groups and twelve frogs that are piped as fountain heads. The sculpture is the creation of local artist D.J. Wilkins who is also responsible for 23 of the 28 public sculptures in Fort Myers. Wilkins spent a year researching the relationship shared by Edison, Ford and Firestone. Among the people with whom Wilkins consulted was James D. Newton, a close friend of the three inventors and author of a book about them called Uncommon Friends. This statue/fountain is widely considered the sculptural symbol of the city of Fort Myers.
The newest sculptural addition to Centennial Park is Fire Dance, a large mass of twisted red stainless steel created by Ohio artist David Black. Black originally called the sculpture Whirlwind, a tribute to a storm he experienced ten years ago while vacationing on Sanibel Island. The name changed after city officials chose the red version instead of the white. Black said his sculpture was also partially inspired by a jazz festival he attended. (a storm and a jazz festival combination?)
