A Seward Johnson statue of mariachi singers stands near the truck that delivered it and 10 other statues at the Crown Point Sportsplex.. Staff photo by Suzanne Tennant
CROWN POINT — It was the kind of day when Marilyn Monroe’s bare legs needed long johns to hide the goosebumps and “Los Mariachis” probably would have wished they were somewhere south of the border.
The 11 life-size Seward Johnson sculptures arrived on schedule on a chilly Monday in Crown Point and were in place around the downtown square before noon. Public Works Director Scott Rediger said the only thing left to do was attach the sponsor placards, which have yet to arrive.
“It went 100 percent smoother,” Rediger said of this year’s stationing of the sculptures compared to last year. “This year they are all centrally located around the square, so it went quicker. The two on the courthouse lawn were the toughest because we had to get them over the walk and the 2-foot-high barrier wall.”
He said it took “a little manhandling” by the public works crew to get Marilyn and the hot dog vendor onto the lawn. The rest were placed in front of businesses around the square. Last year sculptures also were placed at the Sportsplex, in front of the Family Express at Indiana Avenue and North Street and the outdoor dining area at Crown Brewing.
The final sculpture, the 31.5-foot-high Abraham Lincoln discussing the Gettysburg Address with a modern man, arrives today along with a crane and crew that will assemble it at the Sportsplex on a concrete pad that was donated by Ozinga Ready Mix Concrete. Councilwoman Carol Drasga said the pad will be a permanent fixture and can be used as a platform for other things.
Besides Ozinga, sponsors for the Lincoln statue are DVG, Commonwealth Engineers, Austgen Equipment, Midwest Training and Ice, Ross Property Management and I-65 Properties LLC as well as the city’s Redevelopment Commission.
“I don’t think we could have picked a worse day,” Drasga said of the wintry weather. “The public works guys were the unsung heroes. To get the heavy statues from the pallets to the payloaders to transport them downtown, they had to be lifted by the men.”
Their reward will be a meal prepared by Drasga and her sculpture committee cohorts Kim Geisen and Councilwoman Laura Sauerman.
Drasga said banners for each of the statues listing the sponsors will go up around town in a couple of weeks and brochures about the sculpture display also will be ready about that time. The sculptures will be on display for six months.
“It’s going to be a great summer, and I’m excited to watch everybody enjoy all the statues,” she said.
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