Now that demolition of the Unilever margarine factory is complete, Elgin Mayor Ed Schock has begun brainstorming ways to turn the site into another downtown destination. (source: Daily Herald 11/22/06)

There’s really no possibility of creating a destination out of this plot, bordered on four sides by very busy roads and railroad. The mayor has to be kidding if he thinks anybody is going to go for a stroll in there.

While useless as a park, the site is very visible and hence very important. In my opinion, this site should be used as an exhibition area for large-scale modern, perhaps even contemporary, sculpture. The idea is to show that Elgin has culture. This isn’t for local artists. And there must be no compromise of quality for price or availability. The sculptors selected should be internationally recognized. Because the site is inaccessible, the sculpture must be large enough to be seen and appreciated from a distance. The larger the sculptures, the fewer you need. You can have as few as two sculptures on the site. There should be nothing but grass on the site so as not to detract from the art and to increase its visibility. The western shore of the Fox abutting the site should be denuded of vegetation to allow visibility from the eastern shore.

Good sculpture is expensive (the ones pictured below are beyond Elgin’s means), but it can transform Elgin’s image from casino town to genuine city.

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