The blacksmiths at Spirit Ironworks in Bayport have been busy at the forge — and their latest piece is now on display at Patchogue’s busiest walkway.
The Roe Walkway Arch went up Wednesday morning after full day of prep and construction work on Tuesday.
The 23-foot high arch greets visitors as they walk between Patchogue-Medford Library and the Long Island Pulse Magazine building from the parking lots south of Main Street.
“The installation of this significant arch keeps Patchogue in the forefront as a vibrant arts community” said Dennis Smith, the executive director of the Patchogue Business Improvement District.
The Greater Patchogue Chamber of Commerce received a $19,000 grant through the Suffolk County Downtown Revitalization Program toward the archway, and the Patchogue Community Development Agency matched the funding and more, paying $56,000 for the engineering and installation for a total of $75,000 for the project. [Corrected from earlier figures.]
“This piece is beyond what I expected,” said Marian Russo, the CDA’s executive director. “Just the artistic vision that they brought to life, I’m so impressed. I’m speechless.”
Russo said the original idea was to get a prefabricated archway.
“But I’m glad we took the time and expended the money for a custom-made one,” she said. “It’s going to be there for a very long time. Can you imagine all the pictures that are going to be taken under that arch? It’s one of those things where you just go, ‘Wow.'”
The archway features a book, film strip, music notes, janus masks and a sailboat. It’s also adorned with branches and leaves, which can also be found on the Eloise Staudinger archway that went up in the fall of 2015 on West Main Street.
“They really captured everything we’re looking for, everything that makes our village and our downtown so vibrant,” Russo said.
It reads “Village of Patchogue: across the middle of the arch.
The 18-foot wide archway is a continuation of the years-in-the-making Roe Walkway project that improved the lane, which opens on Main Street between Stanley’s Furniture and Toast Coffeehouse, with new concrete, period lighting, fencing and planting beds.
In 2015, a group of local artists also painted murals along the walkway.
In November, the Village of Bellport also dedicated a monument in the heart of its downtown area, across from Avino’s Italian Table on South Country Road/Main Street.
“Captain Bell’s Dream,” was also created by brother and sister (and Bellport natives) Rachel and Tim Miller (photo below) of Spirit Ironworks.
“It’s great to know everyone who goes down Main Street will see it, and that it will be a symbol for the village,” Rachel Miller had said in November in Bellport.
Check back at greaterpatchogue.com for more details about the Patchogue project.
J.R. Holzmacher of Ronkonkoma provided engineering services. Dymond Industries of Medford did the installation and Russo worked as the project manager.
She also wrote the successful grant application for the Chamber of Commerce.
Dennis Smith also represents the area on the Suffolk County Downtown Revitalization Advisory Committee, which helped fund the earlier Roe Walkway work with a $100,000 grant. The Patchogue Community Development Agency then matched that grant, and more, with an additional $125,000. The earlier walkway work was completed in 2011.
