Local economic development officials say corporations scouting locations are more interested in the quality of life and tax incentives a region offers, not its pop icons. The statue “is totally immaterial,” said Montgomery County economic development chief Joe Tuss. “Corporations need to have a business reason to be here.”
Many motorists have drawn inspiration from the icon.
“It always brought a positive feeling to me,” said Beth Arnold of Huber Heights.
“It brings hope to people seeing something like that,” said Mike Swank, a Mansfield resident, during a recent visit to downtown Dayton.
But as the butt of endless Internet jokes and comic photoshopping around the world, the giant statue “has become a mockery,” said Christopher Surratt, a Clayton resident. “I believe the church has good intentions, but they shouldn’t rebuild it.”
“I think people looked at it as an oddity,” said Peter Certo of Sugarcreek.
“It was just too much,” said Kettering’s Steve Elliott.
The statue’s proximity to busy Interstate 75 in Butler County is a big reason it’s gotten so much attention, and a big reason why a group of Dayton area aviation enthusiasts will soon launch a public campaign to build their own icon at the I-75, I-70 interchange — a giant replica of the Wright brothers’ first plane atop a 10-story-high pylon. Estimated cost: $7.5 million to $10 million.
“There isn’t a better place to tell the world that the Wright brothers are from Dayton,” said Tony Sculimbrene, executive director of the National Aviation Heritage Alliance. “And it’s a far more appropriate image for the area.”
Walter Ohlmann, secretary of Wright Image Group, the group behind the icon plan, said, “Maybe we could actually convince people that the Wright brothers come from Ohio, and not some sandy beach down in North Carolina.”
So far the group has raised $100,000. Sculimbrene allowed that “it’s a tough environment to try to raise money right now,” but he’s confident that eventually the funds for the monument will come through.
“It has to happen,” he said. “It’s the perfect place to tell the world our story.”
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