City and community leaders last month celebrated the completion of Arlington’s second Gateway Monument, which welcomes residents and visitors alike as they enter The American Dream City from the south.
The lighted monument, located on U.S. Highway 287 near Russell Curry Road in the southwestern side of town, stands 20 feet tall and reflects the City of Arlington’s star logo. It is one of seven gateway monuments planned for the City’s major corridors, including Interstate 20 and State Highway 360. The first monument was installed in 2017 on Interstate 30 north of Randol Mill Park near the Fielder Road exit.
With an excelling education system, a strong entrepreneurial business community and diverse neighborhoods, Arlington is a direct reflection of how the American Dream thrives when citizens have an independent spirit and city pride, Mayor Jeff Williams said during last month’s dedication.
“We are the place where dreams and big ideas get done,” the Mayor said. “So, naturally, we would want to announce when people arrive in Arlington – ’We’re here!’ This monument certainly does that. It makes a tremendous statement.”
U.S. Highway 287 stretches nearly 1,800 miles from Port Arthur on the Texas Gulf Coast all the way north to Wyoming, bringing a great many travelers through Arlington, District 2 City Council Representative Sheri Capehart said. Thanks to the new monument, travelers will know without a doubt that they have arrived in a community with a great sense of pride.
“Not only do you recognize the city you are now in, I think the gateway monument gives you an indication of the kind of city you are in,” Capehart said. “It’s the kind of city that is big and bold and proud of its heritage, proud of the people who live there, proud of its future.”
– Susan Schrock, Arlington Office of Communication