Eugene O’Neill in Danville

Located in a public park in downtown Danville, this permanent public artwork commemorates the only American playwright to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature. O’Neill wrote some of his greatest works while residing in Danville.

The entire work consists of a 9-foot-high typographic sculpture, eight information pedestals, and one shorter donor pedestal. The pedestals are positioned so they can be read from a wheelchair or by a small but very intelligent child. Materials include classic typography, bronze, and porcelain enamel. The water-jet cut lettering, out of one sheet of 1-inch-thick bronze, is considerably more difficult and risky than it looks. The result is striking, but in a restrained way.

The challenge was to make something that was stylistically and materially enduring, compatible with the nature of O’Neill’s work, and appropriate to the site. O’Neill’s plays seem unhappy and bleak to most people so the quote used for the central piece is jarring and blunt, even for a piece of public art. But the town was eager to rectify something long overdue and the O’Neill Foundation was committed to the author’s artistry. Interestingly, almost everyone, including small children, stops, reads, and then rereads the quote.

Design Team

Michael Manwaring (Principal in Charge), Rochele Tanabe

Design Firm

The Office of Michael Manwaring

Consultants

James Keppel (design documentation and construction administration)

Fabricators

Artworks Foundry, Mach 1, Winsor Fireform, Fluoresco