Already a magnet for people

The Heart of the Harbor plaza at the far east end of Main Street in downtown Port Washington has already achieved its goal of becoming a community gathering space.

Kristina Tadeo, executive director of Port Main Street Inc., which spearheaded the plaza project, said that people have been using the plaza for the past several weeks, even as construction was in its final stages.

That was especially true, she said, “when the weather was warmer. The tables were filled up from lunchtime through the afternoon.”

And now that the days have been chilly, she said, “I’ve seen a lot of people using the fire feature.”

A ribbon cutting will be held at the plaza at 4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 28, to formally open the attraction.

The Heart of the Harbor plaza has been in the works for several years, with Main Street officials envisioning it as a way to convert an unused piece of asphalt at the edge of the lakefront into a place where small events can be held and residents and visitors can gather year-round.

Port Main Street Inc. raised $270,000 for the project, including private donations and several grants, including a $40,000 Coastal Management grant. City crews provided the matching fund through their labor.

“I’ve been extremely impressed by all the work,” Public Works Director Rob Vanden Noven said. “Main Street did a great job fundraising, promoting it. Our crews did a good job working there.

“I think they really did create a central gathering point.”

The centerpiece of Heart of the Harbor is a 12-foot-tall fire sculpture that Main Street commissioned from Milwaukee area artist Jesse Meyer.

The bronze sculpture has metal tendrils that intertwine as they reach from the base skyward with a gas flame inside them — a design meant to resemble both flames and the waves of the lake. A switch at the plaza turns on the flame, which will burn for a set amount of time.

Benches, bike racks, picnic tables, landscaping, pavers, a sitting wall and metal sunshades are also part of the plaza.

Tadeo said that the sunscreen “is very cool. It’s really an art piece itself. Its shadow creates a really cool pattern on the ground.”

Plaques designating the major sponsors, including Port Washington State Bank, which sponsored the fire sculpture, and the Ansay family, which sponsored the sunshade, haven’t arrived yet, Tadeo said.

Tadeo said she is pleased with the plaza and noted it has already been used as the focal spot for several events —including the recent Third Thursday doggy costume parade and contest.

“It’s a perfect spot,” she said. “It’s a pinpoint now on the map of downtown. It’s big enough for people to gather around.

“We’re very fortunate so many people in the community wanted to support this project. I think people just realized the need for a central gathering spot.”

And because the plaza is along the bike path, she said, “It can serve a lot of purposes. It’s a beautiful vantage point for people to sit and enjoy the lakefront.”