Superman needs landing site; Rock and Roll Hall of Fame out
Statue to show city’s most famous native in full flight.
Plans for the CLEVELAND — installation of a larger-thanlife statue of Superman are once again up in the air. And not in a “Look, it’s a bird...” way.
In a meeting Monday afternoon between city officials, sculptor David Deming and members of the statue committee, it was confirmed that the original site near the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is no longer available.
Deming said the statue project is not dead, but the committee is “back at square one.” In an email, Deming said the committee is looking for a new site for the statue and the design of the statue and surrounding plaza may have to change depending on the location.
Deming, of Cleveland, has created a large model of the statue, which shows Cleveland’s most famous native in full flight. The 4,000-pound, 10-foot-long statue would sit atop a steel column, which would be 36 feet from the base of the column to the highest point of Superman’s body.
Money for the project, last estimated at $4.5 million, would be raised by the promoters. Fundraising has not yet begun.
At the time of the announcement of the project in 2015, Deming said the plaza below the statue would include a jumble of abstract shapes meant to resemble Superman’s home of Krypton. It would also include statues of Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, and Siegel’s widow, Joanne, who was an inspiration for Lois Lane.
Originally, the statue would have been placed alongside a proposed pedestrian bridge that would connect the Cleveland downtown mall to the North Coast Harbor near the rock hall and the Great Lake Science Center.
The developer of the property, Richard Pace, has decided against allowing the statue to be places at the location. Pace is a co-founder and former member of the Siegel and Shuster Society which promotes Superman and his Cleveland creators.
“I had a long history with the society and worked a long time to find a place for the statue,” he said. “We thought it was a perfect site. But, we are working with a group that has a major development for that site and there is no room for the site. We would love to have the statue somewhere in the harbor development. I would be happy to work with the committee to look for another site (in the harbor area). I have no timeline when I will be able to do that. I did not want to hold the statue up so I suggested they look elsewhere.”
The prototype of the Superman statue is on display at the Cleveland Public Library through March 31 as part of its Superman exhibit that opened last year.
Statue committee member Howard Stoller said he talked to the city last year, but city officials wanted to wait until this month to discuss the statue project.
The bridge, designed by Miguel Rosales and Parsons Brinckerhoff, was scheduled to open in 2017, but the project has been postponed.
The city, the state and Cuyahoga County earmarked $25 million for the span, but an estimate three years ago pegged the cost at $33 million.
In response, the county launched a feasibility review of the project that was still underway as of last fall.
Cleveland lawyer Jeffrey Appelbaum, who was leading the analysis, could not be reached for comment Tuesday. City planning officials could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Statue committee member Michael Olszewski, the president of the Siegel and Shuster Society, said he is confident that the statue will become a reality.
“The Superman statue is a priority,” he said.