View photo summary at end of article. (5 photos)
On Thursday, May 22, 2008 five bronze statues arrived at the trailhead plaza site and were installed. They came in a big black truck from the Crucible LLC foundry in Norman, Oklahoma. George Drouillard got to ride in the back of the truck bed ,while Lewis, Clark, York, and the dog Seaman followed in the trailer. Devoted Lewis & Clark followers will find that riding order interesting.
Their trip here drew curious stares from motorists when they were driving on various city streets and stopped at traffic lights between Norman, and the Missouri State Capitol.
So, what kind of day was it? Well, it rained all morning. The rain stopped at noon and the sun tried to peek through the clouds late in the afternoon. For a few of our local Lewis & Clark faithful who have been following this project for seven years, it was like D-Day. Our core members were all there to observe that final thrust.
The sculptor and landscape planner were there to orchestrate the work effort in the gentle rain.
In the end, after some overhead crane work, positioning, drilling, anchoring, chipping. the bronze statues looked just right in this new plaza location.
The dedication ceremonies will be fun, but our little band has already been to the top of the mountain on installation day. We’re convinced we have an awesome group of statues that tell a new story and that they are placed in an awesome location.
The clincher came at the end of the day. The sculptor, installation crew from Norman, and the landscape planner had departed as their work was done. One last photo was taken of a Parks & Recreation worker and his young daughter enjoying exploring the finished monument.
The public will get to see the full story of the new Lewis & Clark Trailhead Plaza when it is dedicated on June 4, 2008.
Then word-of-mouth and written opinion will determine whether it is just another ordinary group of Lewis & Clark statues, or if the scene is EXTRAORDINARY. Will it become a local curiosity or a nationally known landmark? Time will tell, but my vote is with monumental and extraordinary.
So that is why our little band of Lewis & Clark faithful will be shouting HUZZAH! HUZZAH! HUZZAH! for the Corps of Discovery; for sculptor Sabra Tull Meyer, for landscape planner Austin Tao, for Brookside Construction of Desoto, Missouri, for the Crucible LLC foundry installation team, and the Jefferson City Parks & Recreation crane operator. They did all that skilled work while we watched as they achieved perfection.
Our odyssey now comes to a successful conclusion on June 4, and it lasted longer than our heroes Lewis, Clark and the other members of the Corps of Discovery’s journey. Was it worth it? You bet!
As a final note, watch the Olympics telecast this summer from China. Austin Tao will be there and he has a landscape project ( Xi Dan urban plaza) there that viewers will see in the television coverage. Its a small world after all! Maybe he’ll tell those assembled in Beijing of the trailhead plaza in Jefferson City.