Marquette Park
Mackinac Island, Michigan
Project Summary
Mackinac State Historic Parks is currently construction a Peace Garden to
commemorate 200 years of peaceful relations between the United States and Canada following the War of 1812. A series of proposal for a sculpture for the center of the garden were submitted and one was selected. The sculpture will be the centerpiece of the garden which will be dedicated on July 18, 2015 to commemorate and celebrate 200 years of peace between the United States and Canada following the War of 1812.
Site Description
The Peace Garden will be located behind and adjacent to The Richard and Jane Manoogian Mackinac Art Museum in Marquette Park on Mackinac Island. This is a highly visible and popular ornamental park below historic Fort Mackinac that includes well-maintained grass areas interspersed with lilac beds and a 1909 bronze sculpture of Fr. Jacques Marquette by Gaetano Trentanove. A small playground is immediately behind the garden. The garden itself will be roughly 80 feet in diameter with three oval shaped beds forming the perimeter with 18 inch masonry bench walls made with indigenous limestone and topped with a mortar cap. There will be a small bed (12 feet in diameter) made of the same limestone in the center of the garden. The sculpture will be mounted on a plinth no larger than 4 feet in diameter in the center of this bed.
The sculpture may be lit at night during a portion of the year. The sculpture must be permanently mounted and able to withstand the extreme temperature and climatic conditions of northern Michigan.
Timetable
June 1, 2015 – Deadline for installation of sculpture
July 18, 2015 – Dedication of the Peace Garden and sculpture