Cathedral City studies standardized entry monuments; staff outline sizes, cost ranges and possible locations

City staff presented a proposal for a standardized entry-monument program for Cathedral City during a City Council study session, describing background, possible sizes and preliminary cost estimates and identifying potential locations for installations across the city.

John Corella, a city staff member who led the presentation, said the proposal builds on prior Public Arts Commission work and the city’s five-year strategic plan action to develop an “entryway, median and lighting master plan.” Corella said the city already owns the original Mountains Cathedral sculpture outright, including copyrights, from a 2005 purchase from artist Michael Paul Thierry, who has since died.

Corella described four size concepts derived from the original sculpture. He said the largest, the full-scale sculpture, is roughly 12 feet tall and would be challenging to site in many medians. A quarter-scale mockup was described as about 3 feet tall, 1 foot wide and 3.5 feet deep (above the base). A half-scale example was described as roughly 6 feet tall, 2 feet wide and 6.5 feet…