Brian Tedder

Anyone who has walked the paths located between the W.E.B. DuBois library and the campus pond has noticed the newest gift to the University of Massachusetts campus.

In honor of its 50-year reunion, the class of 1956 donated “Minuteman Crossing,” the stone garden that will soon surround the Minuteman statue that faces the campus pond.

Robert Donald, a member of the gift and reunion committee of the Class of 1956, is very happy with how the project has turned out.

“It’s really a very central focal spot where people walk,” said Donald. “It’s also close to the old campus, which the Class of 1956 remembers. They remember the Old Chapel, South College, Memorial Hall and campus pond.”

The crossing is located on the large section of lawn between the Fine Arts Center, the library, and the campus pond.

Construction on the project has taken roughly two months. The project was originally supposed to be completed by the end of this week, but the fencing is scheduled to be removed October 10, according to the contractors.

The statue itself was presented five years ago as a gift from the class of 1950, in honor of their 50-year reunion celebration.

“Minuteman Plaza,” as the finished project will be called, is a large circle, with two smaller circles protruding out the side closest to the library. Both smaller circles will be elevated from the larger one, but both will be easily accessible.

One circle will consist of small steps leading to the Minuteman statue, while the other will be a spiral stone pathway also leading to the statue. The entire plaza is made of Goshen stone, a dense, hard stone that can be broken into flat pieces for construction.

As a result of the construction, some walkways have been uprooted and the base of the plaza is no longer level with the surrounding grass. Those walkways will remain and the surrounding area will be graded to transition with the plaza, according to Bruce Thomas, landscape architect at the Facilities and Campus Planning Division.

The plaza will be handicapped accessible and hopefully be a welcoming place for people to go and take in the campus atmosphere, according to the landscape architects who worked on the project.

“I think this is a great gift,” said Chris Baxter, one of the architects. “It will be here forever. This type of work lasts hundreds of years.”

The total construction cost of the project was $158,385, which all came from funding collected by the class of ’56. No University funds were used in creating the plaza.

Andy Smith can be reached at [email protected].