Reagan statue arrives: Riverfront construction nearly complete; events planned for dedication Friday
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| The Reagan statue is lowered into place Monday morning at the riverfront in Dixon. Dedication of the statue and Heritage Crossing Riverfront Plaza will take place Friday. (Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@svnmail.com) |
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DIXON – It’s here.
The bronze statue of Ronald Reagan, astride the likeness of a palomino horse he rode nearly 60 years ago, sits at the head of the just-about-finished Heritage Crossing Riverfront Plaza.
Dutch, easy in the saddle, and the horse, with ears pricked forward, point up Hennepin Avenue – also known as Reagan Way – and toward Reagan’s boyhood home, church, library, and school.
You can’t see it yet, though.
Although crews installed the statue on Monday, it will remain covered with canvas until Friday, when the city will welcome home its favorite son with fireworks and a dedication ceremony.
The statue, created by artist Don Reed and named “Begins the Trail,” will be unveiled at 11:30 a.m. on Aug. 14 at the height of Reagan Trail Days.
Sisters Ella, 4, and Ainsley Govig, 5, came out with their grandparents on Monday to watch workers set the statue atop its marble base.
As a crane towered above the girls, seated in their lawn chairs, and swung the life-size statue into place, Ella let bystanders in on a secret:
“It’s fake,” she said. “That’s not really him.”
Reagan’s image will serve as the centerpiece of Heritage Crossing, an open-air plaza, at least 10 years in the making, that looks out onto the Rock River.
A few stones have yet to be laid, and a commemorative plaque has yet to be set at the base of the statue, city engineer Shawn Ortgiesen said. Aside from that, though, and some handrails that (hopefully) will be in place by Friday, the plaza is complete.
Heritage Crossing is a pilot project, part of an overall plan to redevelop and revitalize the 24-square-block area that covers downtown Dixon and the riverfront area. The Dixon Riverfront Commission formed in 1998, and the $4.5 million plaza is the commission’s first major project.
Schedule of events
On Friday, Aug. 14, the city will dedicate the Heritage Crossing Riverfront Plaza and will unveil a life-size statue of Ronald Reagan. Here’s a schedule of the day’s events:
10:30 a.m. Music from the Dixon Municipal Band
11:30 a.m. Dedication ceremony, unveiling of Reagan statue, ribbon cutting
12:30 p.m. Music from Jazzy Jeff
1:30-4:30 p.m. Variety of music and art
6:30-9:30 p.m. Music from the Late Night Blues Brothers
9:30 p.m. Fireworks
Reagan’s church open to visitors
Visitors also can stop in at Ronald Reagan’s boyhood church during Trail Days.
First Christian Church, 123 S. Hennepin Ave.,
will be open for tours from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, and from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.
Visitors will be able to visit the Reagan Room, walk through the church’s sanctuary, and view the baptistery where brothers Neil and Dutch Reagan were baptized.
There also will be a pancake breakfast 7-10 a.m. Saturday. It’s $5 for adults and $3 for children.
For more information, call the church at 815-288-1222.
