Mishawaka Riverwalk gateway park to honor Marv Wood with sculpture

Greg Swiercz, South Bend Tribune
·3 min read
This rendering show what Marvin's Gardens, the featured sculpture in the gateway park for the Mishawaka Riverwalk at Lincoln Way East and Cedar Street, will look like. Marv Wood, legendary coach of the 1954 Milan High School basketball team that won the state championship, a story that was told in the motion picture "Hoosiers," later settled in Mishawaka and is being honored for his lifelong service to the city.

MISHAWAKA — The Mishawaka Riverwalk extension project from Race to Cedar streets is nearing completion this fall, a fitting time of the year, as the city honors one of Indiana high school basketball's legendary coaches.

A gateway park on the northwest corner of Cedar and Lincoln Way East, serving as an entrance to the Riverwalk, will honor Marv Wood, former Mishawaka resident and the coach of the 1954 Milan High School team that Wood coached to the Indiana state basketball championship from the tiny, rural school. The feat was made famous after a fictionalized version was told in the motion picture "Hoosiers."

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Mishawaka Mayor Dave Wood (no relation) announced in April during his state of the City address that a sculpture of Wood and his team measuring the height of the basketball rim, a real-life episode with the Milan team who were playing at the large Hinkle Fieldhouse during their state championship tournament run. David Layman, a local sculptor, has been commissioned to create the sculpture.

This rendering shows the Mishawaka Riverwalk Extension project that adds a walkway from Race Street to Cedar Street along residences and businesses on Lincoln Way East by the St. Joseph River.
This rendering shows the Mishawaka Riverwalk Extension project that adds a walkway from Race Street to Cedar Street along residences and businesses on Lincoln Way East by the St. Joseph River.

"We thought this iconic moment was also symbolic of our small city being able to compete on anylevel," the mayor said in his city address.

While Marv Wood and his wife, Mary Lou, moved often in his coaching career, the Woods made Mishawaka their home, while Marv Wood served as coach and guidance counselor and later coached women's basketball teams at Bethel College and Saint Mary's College.

A 'bookend' gateway park

The Riverwalk extension project was more than a decade in the making. Acquiring property along the St. Joseph River from homeowners and businesses took time, and funding constraints pushed the project to early 2022 for bids for the work.

City officials said only one bid was received, for $6.1 million, about twice the expected engineering cost estimate, which took city planners back to the planning phase with modifications that later resulted in a re-bid won by Larsen Danielson for just under $4 million.

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When finished, the Riverwalk will be 3.3 miles long, spanning both sides of the St. Joseph River between Cedar Street to the east and Logan Street on the west.

Workers continue construction on the Mishawaka Riverwalk extension from Race Street to Cedar Street on Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023. Plans are for the project to be done by the end of October.
Workers continue construction on the Mishawaka Riverwalk extension from Race Street to Cedar Street on Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023. Plans are for the project to be done by the end of October.

The Marvin's Garden park will also serve as a "bookend" park with Kate's Garden, a small park that currently exists on the west end of the city's Lincoln Park at the Riverwalk at Logan and Lincoln Way West. The park is named after longtime community leader Catherine "Kate" Kosanovich. Included in the park is a bronze sculpture by Tuck Langland called "Educators."

First of two projects

The work to complete the Riverwalk project is expected to be done about the time bids will be sought in October for a city-county project to reconstruct and widen the Cedar Street bridge over the river.

Ken Prince, director of planning and community development, said beginning in 2024, the bridge bed will be stripped down and rebuilt, as utility lines will be rerouted under the bridge and the lanes will be widened, along with other aesthetic changes. Once bids are awarded, city officials have said work is expected to start in the spring and be done in early 2025. Federal funds will pay for 80% of the cost, officials say.

Prince said Cedar Street will be closed to traffic once bridge reconstruction begins.

Email Tribune staff writer Greg Swiercz at gswiercz@sbtinfo.com.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Marv Wood sculpture planned for Mishawaka Riverwalk park