THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 10, 1996 TAG: 9603060032
SECTION: REAL LIFE PAGE: K3 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: OBSCURE TOUR
LOCAL LANDMARKS THE TOUR BOOKS NEVER MENTION
SOURCE: BY EARL SWIFT, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 39 lines
SCENIC, tree-lined North Shore Road wriggles through several Norfolk neighborhoods along the Lafayette River's northern bank, along the way passing stately waterfront homes, private anchorages, and the parked cars of the well-to-do.
Then, quite unexpectedly, there's 7402 Major Ave.
The little house at North Shore's intersection with Major is normal enough. But walk out back, past the garage, and you'll find displayed one of the city's most intriguing outdoor sculptures: a massive, pale green Buddha, sitting cross-legged and gazing serenely on the Lafayette.
The statue is the work of Richard R. Theisen, who built it in 1967 for a Portsmouth beauty pageant. Crafted of steel, wire, plaster and wood, it is mounted on a brick planter, and reached via a gate that faces the street.
A sign over the gate informs visitors that they're about to enter heaven.
Theisen's high regard for his yard has not not been shared by all of his neighbors, some of whom have given him grief through the years for the statue and his display of other artwork fashioned from household cast-offs.
The 9-foot Buddha has kept its seat despite this criticism, seemingly fortified by a sign at its base that reads: ``Love is the fragrance and perfume of the flower of life. Without it, we are weeds.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
RICHARD L. DUNSTON/The Virginian-Pilot
Since 1967, when it was built for a Portsmouth beauty pageant, a
9-foot Buddha has meditated in Richard R. Theisen's Norfolk yard.
by CNB