thedrifter
02-26-09, 07:02 AM
Abe Lincoln a little too tall?
A nationally known sculptor wants to build a statue of Lincoln for Gettysburg, but officials are worried about the towering height.
By ERIN JAMES
The Evening Sun
Posted: 02/25/2009 01:00:00 AM EST
Even a life-size statue of Abraham Lincoln would tower over most folks. The tallest president was, after all, 6 feet, 4 inches tall.
But if a Utah-based sculptor gets his way, Gettysburg children might have a tough time seeing more than Lincoln's shoelaces.
Originally proposed as a 9-foot-tall bronze statue of the man who famously delivered the Gettysburg Address, the monument could now stretch as high as 17 feet into the sky.
The sculptor, Stanley Watts, visited Gettysburg recently to scope out potential locations for the artwork, which he plans to give to the borough through an anonymous donor sometime this year.
Officials have all but settled on Alumni Park as a location. The Baltimore Street park is owned by the Gettysburg Area School District, which offered the space after a vote of its school board in December.
At a recent Public Works Committee, several borough officials said they learned of the statue's change in size, however, during Watts' recent visit. Watts now plans to sculpt a 12-foot statue of Lincoln on a 5-foot pedestal.
And that development has more than a few officials concerned.
Borough Manager John Lawver put it this way.
"A 12-foot statue in Alumni Park is bigger than (the school district's) gazebo," he said.
Councilman Michael Birkner, who has corresponded with Watts since the proposal was first introduced in November, expressed similar concerns.
"It's big," Birkner said. "You're talking about a child not even getting
up to Lincoln's feet."
That's not an uncommon feature of Watts' work. The nationally known sculptor constructed a 40-foot-high, 17,000-pound bronze monument that portrays three firefighters raising the American flag at Ground Zero in New York after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. That statue, based on a photo similar to the one of Marines raising the American flag in Iwo Jima, was dedicated at the Fallen Firefighters Academy in Emmitsburg, Md.
Councilwoman Claire Lewis said she has seen the Emmitsburg monument and described it as "massive."
"Some people love it. Some people hate it," she said.
As for the Gettysburg statue, Lewis said she worries the project could continue to grow in size.
"My fear is he may say 9 or 12 (feet) now, and it may wind up to be 30," she said.
Birkner also said he learned recently that the statue cannot be directly gifted to the borough. It must go through a nonprofit because of the tax implications for the donor, he said.
Watts had originally wanted the statue to be located in Gettysburg by February for the 200th anniversary of Lincoln's birth. But that timetable quickly fell through as council members said they needed more time to find a location and work out the details.
Birkner said the borough now has a choice between July 4 and Nov. 19 - the 146th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address - for the statue's debut.
ejames@eveningsun.com
Ellie
A nationally known sculptor wants to build a statue of Lincoln for Gettysburg, but officials are worried about the towering height.
By ERIN JAMES
The Evening Sun
Posted: 02/25/2009 01:00:00 AM EST
Even a life-size statue of Abraham Lincoln would tower over most folks. The tallest president was, after all, 6 feet, 4 inches tall.
But if a Utah-based sculptor gets his way, Gettysburg children might have a tough time seeing more than Lincoln's shoelaces.
Originally proposed as a 9-foot-tall bronze statue of the man who famously delivered the Gettysburg Address, the monument could now stretch as high as 17 feet into the sky.
The sculptor, Stanley Watts, visited Gettysburg recently to scope out potential locations for the artwork, which he plans to give to the borough through an anonymous donor sometime this year.
Officials have all but settled on Alumni Park as a location. The Baltimore Street park is owned by the Gettysburg Area School District, which offered the space after a vote of its school board in December.
At a recent Public Works Committee, several borough officials said they learned of the statue's change in size, however, during Watts' recent visit. Watts now plans to sculpt a 12-foot statue of Lincoln on a 5-foot pedestal.
And that development has more than a few officials concerned.
Borough Manager John Lawver put it this way.
"A 12-foot statue in Alumni Park is bigger than (the school district's) gazebo," he said.
Councilman Michael Birkner, who has corresponded with Watts since the proposal was first introduced in November, expressed similar concerns.
"It's big," Birkner said. "You're talking about a child not even getting
up to Lincoln's feet."
That's not an uncommon feature of Watts' work. The nationally known sculptor constructed a 40-foot-high, 17,000-pound bronze monument that portrays three firefighters raising the American flag at Ground Zero in New York after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. That statue, based on a photo similar to the one of Marines raising the American flag in Iwo Jima, was dedicated at the Fallen Firefighters Academy in Emmitsburg, Md.
Councilwoman Claire Lewis said she has seen the Emmitsburg monument and described it as "massive."
"Some people love it. Some people hate it," she said.
As for the Gettysburg statue, Lewis said she worries the project could continue to grow in size.
"My fear is he may say 9 or 12 (feet) now, and it may wind up to be 30," she said.
Birkner also said he learned recently that the statue cannot be directly gifted to the borough. It must go through a nonprofit because of the tax implications for the donor, he said.
Watts had originally wanted the statue to be located in Gettysburg by February for the 200th anniversary of Lincoln's birth. But that timetable quickly fell through as council members said they needed more time to find a location and work out the details.
Birkner said the borough now has a choice between July 4 and Nov. 19 - the 146th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address - for the statue's debut.
ejames@eveningsun.com
Ellie