By: Jolene Almendarez, The Cincinnati Enquirer
BELLEVUE, KY – Life just got a little more beachy along the Ohio River with the unveiling of a new 10-foot Adirondack chair in Bellevue and, yes, you can climb onto it to take photos.
The new sculpture sits on a cement pad at Thomas J. Wiethorn Bellevue Beach Park and offers an Instagram-worthy view of Cincinnati’s Mount Adams neighborhood.
The project pays homage to the history of the park, which is celebrating its 125th anniversary soon, Will Weber, President and CEO of Southbank Partners, said.
The roughly $10,000 sculpture is called, “A Beautiful View,” which is what Bellevue translates to in French.
Bellevue Kentucky’s Mayor Charlie Cleves gives an early look at recently purchased land at Bellevue’s Beach Park which will continue to develop their waterfront.
Bellevue mayor: ‘Enjoy it’
Bellevue mayor Charlie Cleves said at the unveiling that the giant chair is the most recent change of many planned for the riverside park.
For instance, the city purchased about an acre of land directly next to the park in August to make way for a park expansion that will connect Bellevue and nearby Dayton’s riverfront trail.Cleves said the land is big enough to also make way for a small amphitheater at the park which could be used for concerts and other events.
“You’ll have all this (space) for people to sit in chairs …. enjoy it because it’s relatively flat,” he said. “It’s a beautiful area.”
Southbank Partners, a nonprofit committed to developing the Riverfront Commons on the the Kentucky side of the Ohio River, commissioned the sculpture from The Best Adirondack Chair Company. It specializes in building large selfie-worthy chairs.
The Bellevue sculpture is the newest piece unveiled by Southbank Partners, which also commissioned the 10-foot-tall “Love the Cov” sculpture in Covington last spring.
The pieces are part of an overall effort to create an art walk along the Ohio River as part of the Riverfront Commons project.
The ambitious vision for the project includes a miles-long multi-use trail that will connect seven cities from Bromley to Silver Grove.
Weber said the next art sculpture in the works is a life-size replica of the John Hastings ferry boat, which will be installed along the Riverfront Commons Trail near Manhattan Boulevard and Berry Street in Dayton, Kentucky.
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