'Bridge to Willoughby's Future' art piece graces downtown's entrance

Jun. 29—Artist Bill Rigo's concept of incorporating elements of Willoughby's past, present and future into one design has been brought to life at the entrance of Willoughby's historic downtown.

According to Rigo, the art piece is named "The Bridge to Willoughby's Future," which considers the city's history and bright future.

The stamped concrete under the structure mirrors a millstone in remembrance of David Abbott, Willoughby's first settler and mill operator along the Chagrin River. The columns are Willoughby brick to reflect the present-day, historic buildings throughout downtown and the stainless steel arch projects Willoughby's bright future.

The Willoughby name in the arch symbolizes the trusses of a bridge and the locomotive adorned on the top is echoing the city's long-celebrated transportation era.

"Willoughby is building for the future without losing sight of the past," said Rigo, who has a long history and roots in Willoughby with his grandparents living in the city, and his mother attending Union High, to his more than 30-year career at Meister Publishing.

He is currently serving as a corporate director of marketing and visual communications.

In 2018, a developer was in the process of purchasing the former BP station at the corner of Erie Street and Mentor Avenue to build a new bank. So, Mayor Robert Fiala and Economic Development Director Tom Thielman immediately started to negotiate the easement rights for a 22-foot corner section of the property with the sole intent to improve the entrance to the city, as well as construct a public plaza representative of Willoughby's downtown.

As a result, the city and the mayor's newly formed Willoughby Arts Collaborative called for artists to find the best, most creative use for the site, Thielman said. The request asked for a plaza that would inspire, celebrate and preserve Willoughby's cultural spirit, identity and historic reputation.

"It was important that the artists' submission would beautify the area, engage people of all ages, support iconic themes of Willoughby's history and would contribute to the city's goal as being one of Northeast Ohio's most desirable communities," Thielman said.

In response, more than 20 artists participated in a pre-submission meeting and site tour, which then generated 11 formal proposals. The city even garnered out-of-state attention and one international submission from a world-known Australian sculptor, Thielman said.

Of the 11 applicants, three were selected for individual interviews and presentations.

"What became evident early is that there is not a lack of talent and interest in the artist community for creating public art," he said. "What there is, and it's our challenge, is the city and the Arts Collaborative need to identify enough sites and funding to tap into this enormous amount of creativity."

The city has created the Willoughby Arts Fund, which is collecting a small fee tacked on to new developments in the city and held in an account specifically for future public art installations. In addition, the Arts Collaborative has been awarded nonprofit status and is accepting charitable donations of any size to advance the arts in the city.

After two rounds of judging by the Arts Collaborative, using criteria like artistic merit, presented concept, use of space, suitability, scale, appropriateness for the community, construction, materials, maintenance and the "wow" factor, "The Bridge to Willoughby's Future" was selected.

"I felt a strong pull to do something," Rigo said. "The top three of us made presentations and they somehow chose my design. That was about three years ago. There were some delays in getting the financing and then (the coronavirus) slowed us down for about a year. I couldn't be happier with the way it turned out. It sparkles like I hoped it would."

The Bridge, through the Arts Collaborative and the city, was privately funded. In addition, Marous Brothers Construction had a hand in the art piece from their financial contribution to their construction work.

"They helped out immensely," Rigo said. "Their donation was all the ground work, pulling electrical and getting the brick pillars up, and the sand, concrete pad. We bid out the top piece to a couple of sign companies and we've been workmen with Cesco Imaging in Ashtabula for the last few years to get the top of it pulled together."

Willoughby is starting to plan formal ribbon cutting and dedication ceremony that will take place in the next couple of weeks.

"We will be working on the fine-tuning the workings of the advanced lighting systems throughout The Bridge," Thielman said. "It truly is a bright future in Willoughby."