City Council decides: Cannons back at Monument Square

The cannons are moving back to Monument Square.

That, at least, was the will of the City Council Tuesday night, as it accepted the recommendation of the ad hoc committee studying the matter.

The council approved a motion by Alderman Jeff Coe, District 1: "Resolved, that the two Civil War era Cannons be returned to Monument Square; placed with due honor and respect for their historic significance as part of Racine's monument to those who served and those who died in the American Civil War.

"Further resolved, that the Cannons be positioned in visual proximity appropriate to the relationship of the Cannons to the Monument. The exact location(s) on the Square, and type of base support into which they will be placed should be determined through consultation with the City's Monument Square Design Consultant, Landscape Architect Ken Saiki Design, Inc.

"Fiscal note: To be determined."

The vote was 14 - 0. Alderman Michael Shields, District 3, wasn't present.

You have to love that last "Fiscal note." Dave Brown, city finance director, says, "They haven't discussed funding. No one's come up with plans, specifications or cost."

Over at Parks and Recreation, word is that Ken Saiki Design is already on the case: working on design and placement of a flagpole and art pieces for Monument Square, and now -- thanks to last night's vote -- for the cannons as well. (Or must they be capitalized "Cannons" as the City Council refers to them?)

The city's "honor and respect" for the cannons' "historic significance" couldn't have been contrasted more starkly than at the Downtown Rotary Club's meeting at noon. Rotary's speaker today was Paula Touhey, director of Kenosha's Public Museums, who will be opening a grand Civil War Museum on June 14, 2008. A place some had suggested that Racine display the two cannons removed when Monument Square was redesigned more than a year ago.

Kenosha's new Civil War Museum

"I won't mention the cannons," Touhey began ... then she described the spectacular museum complex nearing completion on a former brownfield site in Downtown Kenosha, on Lake Michigan. Already open is the beautiful Kenosha Public Museum, and the Dinosaur Discovery Museum located in a former Post Office, which together draw about 125,000 visitors a year.

Kenosha's Civil War Museum will be different from others. "They're usually connected to a battlefield, and tell you about war. This museum is not about war; it's about people. Five hundred thousand soldiers from the Midwest fought in the Civil War; before the war they'd never traveled and they came back with stories -- and these are what we'll be telling."

The exhibition will tell the story in human terms, Touhey said, allowing visitors "to walk among" the soldiers, and follow five real people from that era. Many of the artifacts to be displayed come from two collections, from Carthage College and Carroll College.

Kenosha's museums are run by the city, and have an annual budget of $3 million. The Civil War Museum is hoping to procure a $10 million endowment to fund its operations; Touhey said $6 million already has been collected.

She expects 300,000 visitors its first year. (Racine's biggest attraction -- not counting the mall -- is believed to be the Racine Zoo, which draws about 75,000 visitors annually.