How a storm drain became a local landmark

Drive down Shawnee Mission Parkway in Merriam, and you might do a double take at what appears to be oversized dice tumbling out of a storm drain. This whimsical art display actually serves a very practical purpose, and it all started with a former city administrator who couldn’t stand looking at a set of concrete blocks.

The 12-inch concrete cubes were originally installed as part of a project to slow water flow down a steep embankment off Shawnee Mission Parkway, across the street from Russell Stover, to prevent erosion as it runs toward Turkey Creek. Phil Lammers, Merriam’s city administrator from 2008 to 2016, had passed them many times on his way home. “It was about 2020, 2021, Covid was on, and it just felt like everybody was depressed and the traffic was down,” Lammers says. “I figured it was time to do something fun.”

Lammers sketched out a few concepts and sent them to city leaders. “They texted me and said, ‘Don’t ask. Just go do it.’ So it was an ask for forgiveness, don’t ask for permission situation,” he says.

The first version of the dice, installed in the early days of the pandemic, featured a 96-gallon barrel tipped on its side with a kinetic die hanging from it, swaying in the wind. That version lasted about two years before weather took its toll. When the city asked Lammers to bring the display back, he opted for a more permanent design: five painted concrete cubes arranged as if they’re rolling out of the drain, their discharge pipe framed by a sunburst.

Google Maps now lists the site as a tourist attraction, with glowing reviews like “best dice since sliced bread” and “these keep people sane on rough drives.” Lammers laughs at the attention. “I had no idea and no intention that it’d create such a draw,” he says. “I just wanted to make people smile.”

During Lammers’ tenure with the city of Merriam, he chaired a public art committee that allocated funding for art installations across the city. When that program wound down, he kept the spirit alive by funding and creating the dice display himself. “Public works projects and engineering companies need to think about artwork when they do public works,” he says. “There’s opportunities out there to really introduce interesting pieces when they’re doing these projects.”

Today’s version of the dice requires almost no maintenance—just durable latex paint over concrete—and still serves its intended purpose of controlling stormwater runoff. For now, Lammers is content with giving commuters a reason to smile, but he hints at a possible third iteration to bring back elements from the original piece, with help from his artist nephew. “I’m just really happy that people think it’s amusing and interesting,” Lammers says. 

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