Construction on the tribute to Cleveland’s Olympic icon is expected to begin and conclude sometime in 2022, and planners are now soliciting input from the public about the design.
A conceptual rendering of what the Jesse Owens Olympic Oak Plaza may look like.CLEVELAND, Ohio – Plans are underway for a Jesse Owens Olympic Oak Plaza at Rockefeller Park in University Circle.
Nazi Germany that year awarded each gold medalist with a seedling of its national tree, the oak. Owens took home four. The last confirmed living tree -- which he planted at James Ford Rhodes High School, where he trained -- was essentially cloned by Holden Arboretum, because it was showing signs of distress and is nearing its end of life. The cloned sapling was planted near the lagoon in April 2021, and will serve as the future plaza’s centerpiece.
The plaza also aims to represent the duality of Owens’ life -- his extraordinary talents and accomplishments, juxtaposed against his struggles with racism as a Black American. For example, President Franklin D. Roosevelt never invited him to the White House after his Olympic triumph, and he was forced to ride a freight elevator to a reception in his honor in New York City.
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