Connecting the rainbow
<p>Phillip Ortiz, right, and Toby Lucero work on securing a section of “Under the Rainbow” Wednesday. The sculpture, created by the artist Howard Meehan, will stand above the entrance to McEuen Park.</p>
COEUR d'ALENE - The "Under the Rainbow" sculpture at the Fourth Street entrance to McEuen Park should be lit this evening.
"We tested it all out before we left, so everything should work fine," said artist Howard Meehan, who began constructing the sculpture Wednesday. "But it still keeps me awake sometimes when I think about getting it all up and it doesn't work."
Meehan said he is excited to see his work displayed in such a beautiful setting. He said when it is lit up, people will be able to see it for several blocks up Fourth Street.
"When they see it, I think people are really going to like it," he said. "This will be a photo-op piece in the park."
During the daylight hours, Meehan said, the cables on the top of the structure will sparkle in the sun, and at night, pre-programed lights will illuminate the cables and the ground beneath the structure.
Meehan said there are four powerful lights in each of the pedestals: Two lights each for the cables and two lights each for the ground beneath.
"When people walk underneath it, they will be lit up too," he said.
There are also 49 small LED lights on each of the four spires that hold the cables.
"It's all very subtle and there is a lot of movement," he said. "But we didn't want it to look like Vegas."
He said the lights have already been pre-programed for events and holidays, like Christmas, Fourth of July, and Valentine's Day.
On Wednesday, Meehan and his crew had erected the spires and measured for all of the cables. The cables went to Seattle overnight for 'swedging,' which is essentially putting stainless couplers on the ends so they can be adjusted on the spires.
The cables will be back in Coeur d'Alene this morning, and Meehan expects to have it operational by evening. The finishing touch will be affixing a plaque he puts on all of his work to honor his daughters, Lizzy and Mandy.
"That's what I do this for. It's for them. I just want to honor my daughters," he said.
Meehan said the whole project took about six months to create because he was working a fast track to get it done by last Christmas.
"They called me asked if I could get it done before Christmas," he said. "I had it ready, but they weren't ready. They had some bad weather apparently."
He said the city told him he could bring it up in the spring.
"And that is OK with me. I'd much rather be up here in this weather," he said.