$3M Superman monument approved by Cleveland panel

CLEVELAND -- The city's planning commission has approved an early conceptual design of a Superman monument for the city's lakefront.

The project is intended to celebrate Cleveland's role in the birth of Superman. The comic superhero was conceived in 1933 by city residents Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.

Lakewood artist David Deming's initial plan calls for a 13-foot-long stainless steel statue of the Man of Steel mounted on a 36-foot-high pylon. The monument would occupy a circular plaza surrounded by a pedestrian ramp leading to a planned lakefront pedestrian bridge.

Before approving the plan on Nov. 20, planning commission members asked Deming to further develop his design to include some safety features and a smaller base.

Commission member Lillian Kuri praised Deming's vision of the plaza as a collection of large-scale crystals of Kryptonite from Superman's fictional planet of birth, but said she wants children to be able to safely play on them.

The city's Downtown/Flats Design Review Committee, which approved the proposal Nov. 19, had concerns that visitors might fall on or be injured by the sharp-edged geometric forms.

The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer reported that Deming agreed to address those concerns.

The monument is estimated to cost $3 million or more and would be privately funded. Howard Stoller, the project's chief proponent, and Deming said the goal is to complete it just after the pedestrian bridge is scheduled to be finished in 2017.