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Fire Bowl Memorial Monument and Amphitheater Outdoor Fire Pit

Project Name

Andrew S. Rosell Memorial Fire Bowl #127

Customer Name
Camp Cowles

Design / Specifying Engineer
Design/Build

Block Manufacturer
Wilbert Precast

Wall Installer
Wilbert Precast

Project Location
Pend Oreille County, Washington

Year Built
2010

Father creates innovative memorial for his scouting son

THE CHALLENGE

When 16-year-old Andrew S. Rosell’s life was cut tragically short in a 2007 traffic accident, his father Ed Rosell found it fitting to use part of the settlement to create a memorial for his son.

At the time of his death, Andrew had been working to become an Eagle Scout. As Ed Rosell struggled with his grief, a friend urged him to get involved with Scouting again as a way to "give back" to his community. And thus launched an impressive project at Camp Cowles, a Boy Scout camp in Pend Oreille County near Spokane, Washington.

Camp Cowles was a special place for both Rosell and his son since they first became involved in scouting when Andrew became a Tiger Scout in first grade. A central feature of the 400-acre Camp Cowles was the "fire bowl," an outdoor amphitheater that was built out of rough logs in the 1920’s or 1930s. The amphitheater looked out over Diamond Lake and was showing signs of its age.

DESIGN

Rosell began brainstorming a renovation of the fire bowl amphitheater area as a memorial for his son, and heard about Redi-Rock as a possible solution from a friend who worked at Wilbert Precast.

Based on several other successful amphitheater projects around the country, Rosell and the camp were convinced that Redi-Rock was the best choice for the project. With the help of Wilbert Precast and the camp, the creative, new fire bowl design that would seat more than 300 people started to take shape.

Part of the design of the project included creating better access to the fire bowl and making it ADA accessible. "We have a lot of grandparents who come for ceremonies here, and the fire bowl has a lot safer access now," explained camp ranger Jack Graham. "The original amphitheater was built out of hand-carried rocks and logs over the years to make steps and seating. Now, people don’t mind going out there at night because it’s a lot safer."

"The design of this project really used every product in the Redi-Rock arsenal. From retaining walls, to steps, to caps, to freestanding walls, pavers, and columns—this project had it all," project manager Rick Lindberg of Wilbert Precast explained.

CONSTRUCTION

To create the amphitheater, Wilbert Precast produced 220 Redi-Rock "middle blocks" without the interlocking knob component—so that 220 Redi-Rock cap blocks could be placed directly atop to create benches. The staircase that ran through the middle of the amphitheater benches required 50 additional step blocks.

Construction of the amphitheater began in late March/early April 2010, and needed to be complete by the time campers arrived in June.

Wilbert Precast’s own crews installed the project over the course of about 45 days, which included several weather delays due to a wet, snowy spring. Because access to the fire bowl area was limited, Wilbert’s crews had to stage all the blocks above the construction site and shuttle them down.

"We kind of built it like a pyramid," Lindberg explained. "The real challenge was the soil; we had to pull out a lot of organic material that wasn’t good for compaction and bring in a lot of sand." 300-350 cubic yards of fill material had to be brought in.

THE OUTCOME

"Andrew would be very proud. This place meant a lot to him," Ed Rosell told the Spokane Spokesman-Review newspaper in 2010.

"It was just such a neat project to be involved in. We were proud to be able to help create this memorial," Lindberg of Wilbert Precast said. "The creative aspect of this project was phenomenal too. Taking something that’s made to create retaining walls and using it to create an amphitheater was just fun."

Wilbert Precast earned an honorable mention for the project in the 2010 Creative Use of Precast awards sponsored by the National Precast Concrete Association. The project also was awarded "Innovative Application of the Year" in the annual Redi-Rock International Rocky Awards.

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