Hundreds of visitors have made the pilgrimage to see the 7-foot-tall bust of Abraham Lincoln, paying homage to the famous president in the days preceding his 185th birthday.
The sculpture has attracted foreign tourists, schoolchildren, Lincoln impersonators, even politicians, all eager to pose for photographs with Honest Abe.
But the detailed bust is not located in the traditional Lincoln settings of Springfield, Gettysburg, Pa., or the Mt. Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota. And it’s not made of bronze or stone.
This Lincoln bust is located in the front yard of a house in Arlington Heights, and it’s made of snow and ice.
The artist, part-time sales clerk Fran Volz, created the sculpture in late January. At the time, Volz said he never thought ahead to Lincoln’s Feb. 12 birthday.
Since he completed the bust, hundreds of people have stopped by Volz’s house at 1525 S. Arlington Heights Rd. to admire his work, forcing him to cordon it off with a rope.
Among those who visited Friday was state Rep. Carolyn Krause (R-Mt. Prospect), who posed for a photo next to the Great Emancipator, an image she may use in her campaign literature.
Earlier in the week, Volz, 35, thought his sculpture came to life when he opened his front door and was greeted by Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln. It really was Lincoln impersonators Max and Donna Daniels of Wheaton, who wanted to have their pictures taken in front of the sculpture.
Most visitors are just average Americans.
“Oh, it’s great,” said Kathleen Kelly of Arlington Heights, who had pulled over Friday afternoon and decided to take a photo of the bust.