MOUNT VERNON — A miniature Statue of Liberty will soon catch the eye of motorists entering Mount Vernon from the south.
The Ariel Foundation gifted the statue to the city, and it comes with $100,000 in grant funds to cover the cost of creating a pedestal to secure and support the statue, placing the statue, an informational plaque, and site beautification.
The bronze reproduction will be placed at the CA&C Depot as the anchor for a visitor plaza. It is made from the mold of the final smaller statue Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi created in planning for the full-size Statue of Liberty, originally known as “Liberty Enlightening the World.”
The gifted statue is 45 inches wide, 31 inches deep, and 112 inches (9.33 feet) high. It weighs about 1,500 pounds.
Mount Vernon City Council members accepted the gift at their meeting Monday night.
“In our parks master plan, we wanted that particular green space to be the gateway to our community,” Councilwoman Amber Keener explained. “It is the center for walking paths and bike paths, our viaduct goes right across there, so this will be a major focal point for that area.”
Keener chairs the city’s Parks and Recreation Committee.
In a letter to Mayor Matt Starr, Ariel Foundation Executive Director Jen Odenweller said the gift also supports “collaborative interests of local organizations that desire to further enhance outdoor public art interests along the downtown corridor in support of the Mount Vernon downtown plan.”
“When more is understood about all associated project costs, we will entertain a request for additional grant support needed as contingency funds to assist the City of Mount Vernon Parks Department with this part of the CA&C Depot park enhancement effort,” she wrote.
