Recent city commission approval of a new Coast Guard monument will bring another significant piece of public artwork to downtown Traverse City in 2018. That monument, and a new sculpture called Enspire unveiled last month in Lay Park, were the city's first projects to go through a public arts commission review process. But what about some of the other statutes and monuments that dot downtown streets? What are the stories behind those pieces - and how did they come to make their mark in Traverse City?

One of the city's more recent public projects was a community-driven effort to pay homage to Traverse City founding father Perry Hannah, who founded the city's first general store (Hannah & Lay) and bank (Traverse City State Bank) and helped bring electricity, railroad and the Northern Michigan Asylum to the region. The Perry Hannah Plaza, located in Hannah park at the corner of Union and Sixth streets, features a six-foot tall bronzed likeness of the pioneer. The installation is complete with lighting and surrounded by a small, circular path and curved benches.

While the statue had its unveiling in its current location on August 24, 2015, plans to erect a statue of Hannah had been around for years in different forms. City Planning Director Russ Soyring originally proposed to erect the statue at Woodmere Avenue and Eighth Street, where a roundabout was being considered. The Hannah Park location was chosen due to its better visibility, providing a ceremonious entry way to the well-trafficked park.

The project gained steam when Peg Jonkhoff and Fred Hoisington donated proceeds from their book “Perry Hannah’s Gifts – Then and Now" to fund the statue. Funds were also raised through the Grand Traverse Regional Community Foundation’s “Get it Done” Fund. The statue was created by northern Michigan local Verna Bartnick, who was also commissioned for the Time to Let Go statue on the TART Trail at the Open Space. Since the statue's installation, Hannah has proven to be a popular talisman with residents, who have taken to affectionally outfitting the statue with seasonal accessories like flowers, swim trunks, and Detroit Tigers hats.

Not all public art projects have been as popular at their inception as Hannah's statue – particularly the controversial River Guardian statue. Standing 12 feet tall, the structure was installed on the Boardman River near the Traverse City Area Chamber of Commerce in 1999. Its body and broad shoulders were created with aluminum canoes, its eyes were made from seashells, and its head was crafted from a large block of rounded wood, among other colorful touches. The sculpture celebrates the act of portaging, in which Native Americans carried their canoes and other supplies along the Boardman River for hundreds of years.

Created by artist Dewey Blocksma, a sketch of the proposed River Guardian was met with dismay from city commissioners. "A handwritten map on a wet cocktail napkin to a funeral home in Gary, Indiana would have more appeal than this sketch," Commissioner Jasper Weese famously commented on the design. To decide how to proceed with the project, the city sought input from the public. Blocksma created three replicas of the statue, each standing one-and-a-half feet tall, that were placed with comment cards for patrons at Horizon Books, the Dennos Museum Center, and the Traverse Area District Library.

While the comments weren’t unanimously in the River Guardian's favor, 77 percent supported the design – a strong enough reaction that the city commission dropped its objections and moved forward with the project. The unveiling of the statute – alongside the River Guardian’s wind machine, representing the Circle of Life – drew hundreds of people to downtown Traverse City.

While not nearly as conspicuous, Grand Traverse County's Courthouse also hosts a fascinating – and mysterious – piece of art. Worn down and tucked away close to the Courthouse building, the statue blends into its surrounding environment in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it manner. Though Autumn, with its stone base and a bronze sculpture atop, is marked “Grand Traverse County, Mtskheta Georgia, 1991" the statue lacks any other markings explaining its origins. The Grand Traverse Journalreported Autumn was made in 1990 by Merab Berdzenishvili, a prominent artist of then-Soviet Georgia. Depicting a woman holding fruit, the statue is thought to represent bounties of the harvest.

During the collapse of the Soviet Union, Grand Traverse County acquired the work. According to the Journal, “delegations from this area and Georgia visited both countries beginning in 1989, the resulting cordial relations bringing about an exchange of artistic works, the sculpture for the County and stained glass designed by architect Bob Holdeman and artist Paul Welch for the Republic of Georgia.” Autumn was brought to the country through a Rotary grant and dedicated on July 4, 1991. An estimated 170 people in attendance heard "speakers extol the friendship between the two regions, each one known for its production of fruit and agricultural products.”

Pictured (clockwise from top left): Perry Hannah statue, River Guardian, Autumn