Several of us have mentioned in the past that Chic Harley should have a statute built in his honor outside Ohio Stadium, or the edifice known as "The House that Harley Built." While I haven't come across any plans for that to happen (aside from Woody at the WHAC and President Thompson in front of his eponymous library, our campus isn't exactly littered with statues of our legends), it appears that Champion Avenue is soon to be home to a Memorial Garden in Harley's honor.
From Bob Hunter at The Columbus Dispatch:
The Chic Harley Memorial Garden at 689 S. Champion Ave. will start taking shape on Aug. 11, when Builderscape, a Plain City landscape design company, begins work on sidewalks, brickwork and a retaining wall.
A statue of Harley, a former Ohio State football star who lived at the address from 1911 to ’13 while he attended East High School, has been completed.
The structural work is being paid for with $25,000 sponsored by City Council members Zach M. Klein and Hearcel F. Craig from the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department budget. But the nonprofit organization ChicHarleyGarden.org is still trying to raise $6,000 for plants.
Hunter has apparently been involved with the project for the past couple of years. There is little more to be gleaned from the sponsoring organization's website, aside from this artist's rendering of what the landscaping will look like at completion.
For more on the indomitable Chic Harley, be sure to read Remy's synopsis of his life and career, part of the annual Remy Countdown to Kickoff series.
