A number of famous war heroes and political figures are celebrated in sculpture across Ohio, but one of the state's most famous sons has never had that honor --- until now. David C. Barnett of member station WCPN in Cleveland reports on plans for a statue of Superman.
Like many Clevelanders, sculptor David Deming grew-up knowing that one of the world’s most famous super heroes was the creation of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster --- a couple of teenagers from the city’s east side in the 1930s. When he got the assignment to create a statue of the Man of Steel, he wanted it to be a tribute to Siegel and Shuster.
Deming: The original Superman just looked like a normal man, but pretty fit. My idea was to create that first Superman.
Planners are looking to put the statue at the base of a new Lakefront bridge, in the space between the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Great Lakes Science Center. A twelve-foot long Superman will be depicted in flight and mounted on a base that rises 30 feet in the air. Although Deming usually works in bronze, he says the final version of Superman will be cast in --- what else ---stainless steel. Once the statue goes through city and county design reviews, he estimates the final work could be ready to install towards toward the end of 2016.
