Apopka won’t put Land on a pedestal
Council decides statue of former mayor will be on ground
Former Apopka Mayor John Land, who served 61 years as the top elected official of Orange County’s second-largest city, never wanted to be placed on a pedestal.
So his 7-foot-tall memorial statue won’t be either.
City Council members have decided the soon-to-be-finished bronze statue of Land with documents tucked under his arm will be installed in front of City Hall but not on a concrete pedestal like many historic effigies.
It’s one of two statues in the works to honor Land, who died at 94 in 2014, seven months after losing a re-election bid to current Mayor Joe Kilsheimer.
Land was the longest-tentoo. ured mayor in Florida history.
His family asked the city to put the businesslike figure in front of City Hall as if Land was leaving work after a day of service as he had done for six decades.
The city also is installing a second statue of him at Kit Land Nelson Park.
Though he’s wearing a suit and tie in that statue, too, Land is depicted relaxing on a park bench, his arm resting on the seat’s top slat.
People can slide next to the legendary mayor on the bench for pics.
But city leaders believe residents would want to take pictures with the City Hall statue, By anchoring it on the ground, visitors can more easily snap photos with the bronze replica of Land, an Army veteran of World War II.
The city pondered putting it on a 2-foot tall concrete base, but then worried about the possibility of children climbing it and falling onto the sidewalk.
“Children are children,” said Ray Marsh, a city building official who briefed council members on installation options. “They’re going to climb on things.”
Kilsheimer was concerned about visitors accidentally tripping on an elevated base while trying to get closer to the statue for pictures with the figure.
“We want to do something