Organizers are seeking around $50-55,000 of an estimated $110,000 total to finish the statue, created by Urbana artist Mike Major, with The Springfield Foundation handling the donations. The goal is to have the total raised by September, with a goal to dedicate the statue in the fall of 2025.
Morris, who has chaired the Springfield Outdoor Sculpture Committee since its inception to complement downtown beautification efforts is eager to get the statue completed.
“This is not only for recognizing famous people from Springfield, but who are world-renowned outside of Springfield. This is a community project and all donations are tax deductible,” said Morris.
Starting in 2001, bronze statues created by Major have been placed around the city and include Revolutionary War general George Rogers Clark and Harry Toulmin, Sr., who was a legend in the legal profession as Wright Brothers patent attorney, who have statues near the fountain and across from the Bushnell Building on East Main Street; Native American leader Tecumseh on the grounds of the Springfield Museum of Art; 4-H founder A.B. Graham in a pocket park on North Limestone St.; O.S. Kelly on the esplanade on South Fountain Ave.; and boxer Davey Moore, the last addition to the collection, back in 2013, on S. Limestone St.
Another statue that wasn’t part of this effort but is similar is of Clementine Berry Buchwalter at the Woman’s Town Club on East High St.
Lytle has been previously been recognized in his hometown with Johnny Lytle Avenue on the city’s southside, with a mural depicting him on the side of Mother Stewart’s Brewing Company and, most recently, the Springfield Jazz and Blues Festival named its stage the “Johnny Lytle Commons Park Stage” in his honor.
When Lytle’s surviving family members were in town for the dedication of the stage in August 2024, they were invited to Major’s studio to preview the clay sculpture. He said they were pleased with the creation.
Taken from several photographs, it will capture Lytle leaning on a knee with his elbow, holding mallets and with a chin resting on his other hand.
“It’s informal, relaxed and thoughtful and hints at the creativity of the man, expressive of his talent,” Major said. “It has been a delight to do.”
The Performing Arts Center location was chosen as it was where Lytle gave his final performance in November 1995. He passed away less than a month later.
The mold making and bronze casting are the next steps in the process for which the remaining funds are needed.
Landess said several local foundations and individuals have stepped up with donations for the first half of the statue’s cost. As executive director of the Turner Foundation, he sees the Lytle statue as another step in the city’s various projects bringing downtown Springfield back to life.
Morris said one of his points of pride in having some of the city’s highest achievers memorialized this way is from an experience on as a recent warm early spring day.
“To see the people standing at the statues and looking, it engages those who may not know who they were,” he said. “You don’t know what a gem we have here in Springfield, there is so much opportunity.”
MORE INFO
About the Author