ERIE, Pa. \u2014 Erie\u2019s iconic Bicentennial Tower is celebrating 30 years on the waterfront, and the milestone came with a colorful addition to the city\u2019s bayfront.<\/p>\n
The Erie-Western Pennsylvania Port Authority hosted the tower\u2019s official 30th birthday celebration Monday, bringing together community leaders, former city officials and bayfront partners to reflect on the landmark\u2019s history and discuss its future.<\/p>\n
The celebration also included the unveiling of the final bell in the America 250 Bells Across Pennsylvania public art initiative. Located at East Dobbins Landing, the new bell features colorful artwork celebrating the aquatic life found in the region.<\/p>\n
Standing 187 feet tall, the Bicentennial Tower has become a recognizable symbol of Erie\u2019s waterfront revitalization since opening three decades ago.<\/p>\n
Port Authority Executive Director Julie Slomski welcomed guests to the celebration, which also recognized former Erie Mayor Joyce Savocchio\u2019s role in promoting the tower and the waterfront.<\/p>\n
Current Mayor Daria Devlin says she hopes to build on that legacy by making the area even more inviting to residents and visitors.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to see how we can really double down on that and make it really a place almost like the bookend of Perry Square,\u201d Devlin said, envisioning a connection between Perry Square on State Street and the tower. \u201cHow can we have that space be more inviting for the public? That\u2019s what I\u2019m focused on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Former City Council members and Port Authority leaders who helped push the tower project forward more than 30 years ago also attended the celebration.<\/p>\n
Former Council member Gayle Wright recalled the effort it took to secure enough support for the project.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe needed four votes. The mayor was very supportive, and it was an effort to make this happen, and it was well worth it, so I\u2019m glad to be here today,\u201d Wright said.<\/p>\n
New bell celebrates Erie\u2019s aquatic life<\/p>\n
Following the tower celebration, attendees moved to East Dobbins Landing for the unveiling of the final bell in the America 250 Bells Across Pennsylvania initiative.<\/p>\n
Tim Wachter, an America250PA commissioner, said the bell is part of a larger collection of more than 120 bells located throughout the Commonwealth.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs part of a larger network of over 120 bells throughout the Commonwealth, we believe this to be the nation\u2019s largest public art initiative,\u201d Wachter said. \u201cAs a result of that, people are traveling throughout the Commonwealth to come see these bells.\u201d<\/p>\n
Unlike a traditional bell, Erie\u2019s new installation does not ring. Instead, its artwork celebrates the region\u2019s aquatic life, with every fish found in the area represented in the design.<\/p>\n
Artist Aaron Homerski said the project became a community effort, with approximately 30 to 40 people helping paint the fish.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome people did more than one fish, which was welcome to me,\u201d Homerski said. \u201cWe had about four left over that I ended up doing, but it was quite a lot of people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Devlin even contributed to the artwork, painting fins and a fish.<\/p>\n
\u201cLuckily all you had to do was color within the lines,\u201d the mayor joked. \u201cAs long as I don\u2019t have to draw, I was OK.\u201d<\/p>\n
She praised the project as another example of community involvement on the waterfront.<\/p>\n
Looking ahead for Erie\u2019s waterfront<\/p>\n
Devlin said the potential of the Bicentennial Tower and Dobbins Landing has also attracted attention beyond Erie.<\/p>\n
At a recent national conference, she said, architects and consultants expressed admiration for Erie\u2019s waterfront and its possibilities.<\/p>\n
Now, the mayor says she is considering ways to make the area even more welcoming and to build on the tower\u2019s role as a centerpiece of the bayfront.<\/p>\n
Thirty years after it first became part of Erie\u2019s skyline, the Bicentennial Tower remains a reminder of how far the waterfront has come \u2014 and of the opportunities still ahead.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ERIE, Pa. \u2014 Erie\u2019s iconic Bicentennial Tower is celebrating 30 years on the waterfront, and the milestone came…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":310177,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[126963,64536,12112,23304,88556,136,138,137,67754,126964,126965],"class_list":["post-310176","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-erie","tag-america-250-pa-bell","tag-aquatic-life","tag-bicentennial-tower","tag-community-involvement","tag-dobbins-landing","tag-erie","tag-erie-headlines","tag-erie-news","tag-port-authority","tag-public-art-initiative","tag-waterfront-revitalization"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310176","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=310176"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310176\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/310177"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=310176"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=310176"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=310176"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}