The “bones” of The Traveling Man are made of structural steel similar to what is used for bridges and buildings. The thickness of the structural steel varies from 5/8" to 1-1/4" and there are more than 1,800 pounds of welding rod anodes in the sculptures.

The “skin” of The Traveling Man is primarily 12-gage stainless steel, which retains its beauty under harsh circumstances. Stainless steel provides the ideal material for the exterior due to its high nickel content - just think about the use of stainless steel kitchen utensils endure.

The Traveling Man-Walking Tall is 38-feet tall and weigh more than 35,000 pounds.  At nearly four stories tall, this one sculpture is taller than the Alamo in San Antonio.

The Traveling Man is not moving.  When he is “Walking Tall,” his feet are attached to reinforced concrete piers using sixteen bolts that are 5-feet long and 1-1/2 inches in diameter.  The concrete piers go 32-feet into the ground for support.  When the above-ground and below-ground heights are combined, the collective height is 70 feet for The Traveling Man-Walking Tall.

There are 190 cubic yards of concrete in this series. With the rebar, there is nearly 30,000 pounds of concrete in The Traveling Man.

There are more than 10,000 monobolt stainless steel rivets used in the series holding together more than 3,340 square feet of stainless steel “skin” on the sculptures.

The engineering of The Traveling Man was unique in that it required the development of a three-dimensional computer model using a combination of sophisticated software and custom programs, as well as numerous hand calculations to analyze all the stresses and forces acting on the structure such as wind and the weight of the structure itself. 

An artifact from the torn-down tunnel into Deep Ellum was rescued and incorporated into The Traveling Man-Waiting on a Train sculpture. The concrete artifact weighs more than 15,000 pounds.

The birds in the series represent the souls of the artists, musicians, restaurateurs, club/shop owners, and entrepreneurs who have and do live and work in Deep Ellum.  In total, there are eleven stainless steel birds across the three sites. The upturned tail and scooped back create a perfect perch to slow down with The Traveling Man to appreciate life.

The birds are cast using 304 stainless steel and are 1/8-inch thick. The industrial-strength stainless steel used in the birds is often used for the top of workbenches, so its durability is well established and is naturally corrosion resistant to prevent rusting.

The Traveling Man has his own website and FaceBook page, with nearly 600 friends following his story.  Look for his page under “Traveling Man Dallas.”

More than 12,000 man hours have been invested to bring The Traveling Man to life. This is a passion project for the team which believes the artwork is much more than the sum of the raw materials required for The Traveling Man.