Christ of the Ozarks

By Jack Brummet, Arts and Travel Editor

Gerald L. K. Smith, the man behind the Christ of the Ozarks, was an organizer for Huey P. Long's Share Our Wealth movement[1] and led it for a short time after Long was assassinated in 1935.   After stepping away from politics and activism, he retired to Eureka Springs, Arkansas,  and bought an old mansion and some property, where he hoped to build a religious theme park called "Sacred Projects". Sacred Projects never actually got off the ground, but Smith did commission the centerpiece--a gigantic statue of Jesus that was finished in 1966. It is called "Christ of the Ozarks."

He also completed a 4,000-seat amphitheater that is the site of outdoor performances of "The Great Passion Play", patterned after the one performed in Germany. The play runs five nights a week from the end of April through the end of October.

The statue is more than 67 feet tall--making it one of the tallest statues in the North America. It is the work of Emmet Sullivan, who also worked on the nearby Dinosaur World.

One art critic said it was looked like "a milk carton with a tennis ball stuffed on its top," and locals refer to it as "Our Milk Carton With Arms".

[1] Huey (a/k/a 'The Kingfish") Long's  story is a fascinating one.   Many writers and novelists have tackled the Huey Long story over the years.  The most memorable work is the novel All The Kings Men, by Robert Penn Warren (who claims it wasn't about Long at all).  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huey_Long).

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