A long-awaited statue of William Henry Seward is ready to take its spot near the Alaska State Capitol on July 3.
The statue has been in town for a couple weeks, Co-Chair of the Seward Statue Committee Wayne Jensen said Wednesday, and is currently at the Alaska Commercial Contractors shop. The plan is to install the statue’s marble base Thursday morning and then set the statue up next week prior to the unveiling.
On Thursday, those at the Chamber of Commerce luncheon will get a sneak peek of what the statue will look like.
Jensen will present to the group about the statue at noon at the Juneau Moose Lodge. The lunch costs $20 for Chamber of Commerce members and $25 for non-members, and an RSVP is required. The doors open at 11:30 a.m.
The statue is in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Treaty of Cession with Russia that made Alaska a territory of the United States. Seward was the Secretary of State at the time and negotiated the treaty. The statue stands 6 feet tall and will stand in the Dimond Courthouse Plaza across the street from the Capitol.
The statue took a tour of the country prior to arriving in Juneau. It was unveiled in Seward’s home state of New York before making stops in the Nebraska cities of Seward and Lincoln. Juneau’s ceremony will take place at 3 p.m. July 3.
