Aronow/188th St Memorial
 

Bob Saccenti asked me, and I accepted, to design the plaque for the Memorial to our newly departed street. This is for all of us. Please post your idea of what should or should not be included. Bob and I and a couple of other guys will try to agree on a design, and will put it up for approval. I have a great connection to get it made for reasonable $.

Great IDEA Brownie! Cool interview on City Confidential too!:cool:

I am assuming it would be in bronze or something similar with a raised image and lettering?

I think a 3/4 profile head shot (raised) would be a great depiction of his machismo, charisma and good looks. I will draft something that you may want to include or excerpts from and post later. Good luck.

Which one was Brownie??? Now I'll have to watch it again.

There's a black and white photo of Don standing in front of his boat being lifted off the trailer prior or after a race. Don has that large than life look with a live vest over his shoulder.

That image should be made into a life size statue and placed at the entrance to the street.

I was thinking of a bronze plaque, about 24" x 36", 1" thick, with raised letters, and probably a face of "The Czar", with a listing of the boat companies that have been there, and maybe a few of the people.

I agree with Ron P, that photo is "the classic" Don photo. If a picture is worth a 1,000 words - that is a books worth!

Maybe do the whole thing in granite? They can do just about anything in granite these days, make it stout and list the companies on it that made the street famous, or infamous...:)

This is new ground for me. The way I know to do it is to make a plaque, and stick it on a rock. I'm open to any suggestion.

I like the idea of a bronze plaque on a large rock. The photo mentioned above is perfect. A listing of then names of the companies etc is excellent. I think there should be a brief decsription on how an industry was born on this street etc.

That's what I figured you were going after, my only thought was vandalism. If you were to attach a bronze plaque to a large chunk of stone, someone could think it would be a nice piece to have at home and try to pry it off? Maybe not, but it's just something to keep in mind...

If you did the whole thing on a big chunk of granite, picture a block maybe 3' x 3' and about the same in height, sitting on a base of 40" x 40" by about 8" or 10" high. Cut the top of the block at a 45 deg. angle with the "top" being the highest side and have the picture engraved on the top with some tribute below. This will keep from looking like a headstone and more like a memorial. Then possibly on the front or the back vertical side have the names of the boat companies and what not listed as well. Just some thoughts, but at least it will be one piece and tougher to mess with?

Just my .02 Brownie:)

Anybody know anyone in that business?

I bet any company that makes cemetery head stones could make anything you want. www.rocko***es.com

I'd list the company names after a brief description of the industry that he started. Maybe T2x can write it for you.

I wouldn't mention any individual names or how he died. That would only detract from the man himself.

I agree, a plaque on a rock just isn't enough. You should approach the city of Miami for the funds. Don's boats have a lot to do with Miami's heritage.

This would look pretty darn good carved out of granite with a bronze plaque on the base.

It sure would!

Variations on a theme...

Cool variations Daze!

Brownie, I agree with the above on the classic Aronow photo. I am thinking A bronze statue made from that photo (the Figure 1 &1/2 scale) standing on a granite base with the names and former addresses of all the companies engraved in the base. The top of the granite base could be cut to look like waves.

Just my Ideas....I'm glad to know that something will be done!:)

Tom A.

Exactly.........I have spoken with Michael when this thing was in the very early stages....Bobby emailed me and told me that he was going to approach Brownie with the idea since he has recently introduced his plaques memorializing 188th St. I really like his design and think that with something a little more personalized for Don, that it will be very nice......Michael Aronow was all for the idea......however, final approval for any design should be left to Mike and his brother David I would think.......of course that is just my opinion...........

How about making it look like a "Big Book" Bronze or Stone.Or Bronze on Stone. With those other ideas embossed in the Cover. Obviously, The Book Would be Closed. It could look like a Big Scrapbook. It Certainly was "One Hell Of A Book" A great part of History.

I think a bronze plaque will get stolen. They get sold for scrap here. Do it in aluminum or stone. Even alum will get unbolted and taken home. final answer---Stone.