Remembering Neil Armstrong: Edmonds' Tribute Created for Bicentennial

Thanks to former Edmonds Mayor Mike Cooper for reminding us about the city's special tribute to astronaut Neil Armstrong, .

It was in 1976 that artist Howard Duell created the concrete-and-bronze "Space Capsule" in honor of the nation's bicentennial.

According to the City of Edmonds Web site:

The 11-foot obelisk was created by sculptor Duell with a group of Edmonds students and contains a time capsule. In honor of the Bicentennial, the bas-relief imagery commemorates the accomplishments of Neil Armstrong, the first person to set foot on the moon. Duell was an art instructor at Edmonds Community College. The piece was taken out when the Public Safety Complex was constructed and reinstalled on the same site in 2000.

You can now see the obelisk at the Public Safety Complex on Fifth Avenue South. It is at the end of the police station closest to the fire station. The area is officially called the Neil Armstrong Plaza.

Here's Cooper's memories of Neil Armstrong, which he posted on Edmonds Patch's Facebook page. (You can post your own comments there, .)

I was fortunate to grow up in the '60s when the space program was giving us those great historical events. I watched every event with Alan Shepherd, John Glen and Neil Armstrong. I was in high school when Armstrong walked on the moon. The story was so big it made our annual.

I remember clearly President Kennedy promising the American people we would put a man on the moon and win the space race with the Soviets. I was reflecting on the death of Neil Armstrong yesterday and started wondering what happened to the statue of him that once stood at the old Edmonds Civic Center, located where the Police Station now stands.

The plaza at the city hall was named Neil Armstrong Plaza after his moon walk, and there was a statue and plaque there.