At left: The ironworkers monument will be a globe made of I-beams along with two men and one woman made from ironworkers tools and materials. Surrounding the monument will be the Walk of Fame, composed of paver bricks and blocks inscribed with the names of ironworkers and ironworker unions. (Image courtesy of Moran Iron Works) Nearly four years from now, a 25-foot-tall globe constructed from Ibeams will rest near the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse off North Huron Avenue in Mackinaw City. A figure of a man and woman made of tools and materials of the iron trade will scale the globe, while another figure will prepare to throw a hot rivet to one of the ironworkers.

The first phase of the monument will be complete August 13, with a lone figure standing amid more than 100 paver bricks inscribed with the names of ironworkers and ironworker unions. A ceremony is scheduled that day, which is also the beginning of Mackinaw City's annual International Ironworkers Festival. The monument is to be part of the Ironworkers Walk of Fame.

Development of the memorial was spurred in 2007 by Marilyn McFarland, who was helping coordinate the 50th anniversary of the Mackinac Bridge with the ironworkers who built it.

“There were so many stories they told,” she said of the ironworkers, “and they were so heartfelt.”

She wanted to capture the sentiment in a lasting tribute to ironworkers, and came up with the idea of an Ironworkers Walk of Fame to help pay for it. The walkway would be laid with paver bricks with the names of ironworkers inscribed on them. She took the concept to the village and got it approved.

Last July, she approached Tom Moran, president of Moran Iron Works, for help with a sculpture that could be made of iron.

“The vision I tried to portray is that ironworkers believe they build the world for us,” she said.

With that idea, Mr. Moran developed a globe symbolizing ironworkers constructing the world, along with the three figures built from the materials of their trade. He unveiled the idea to her last October.

“I met with him and fell in love with it,” she said.

When designing the monument, Mr. Moran tried to keep the design straightforward while including as much symbolism as he could.

“The three figures represent cooperation,” Mr. Moran said. Cooperation, brotherhood, and productivity are keys to the success of ironworkers, he added. Constructing the figures from tools is also symbolic.

“I thought it was representative of the ironworkers themselves,” he said. Adding a female character is important, he said, as there are an increasing number of women laboring as ironworkers, and “it just felt right.”

A portion of the globe will appear unfinished, representing that an ironworker's job is never done.

Tools and materials are being sought for the monument, and ironworkers making a donation can inscribe their names on it.

“Just send them here and we'll put them in the sculpture. It's that simple,” Mr. Moran said.

Donations may be sent to Moran Ironworks, attention Ironworkers Walk of Fame, 11739 M-68/33 Highway, Onaway, MI 49765.

The monument will be constructed in four phases in about four years, Ms. McFarland said. The first phase will set seven-foot “George,” on the monument site this year. In the phases to come, the globe will be constructed while the female figure, “Bridgett, “ will be placed on top of it, along with an unnamed male figure.

“It's like watching a dream being born,” Ms. McFarland said.

Leading up to and surrounding the monument will be the pavers. Ms. McFarland hopes to have 300 pavers sold by the end of 2010. Paver sales will help pay for the monument, along with grants Ms. McFarland is pursuing.

Even after the monument has been completed, pavers will continue to be added to the walk.

“The brick sales will go on until the village says, 'Enough already,'” she said.