Arc of Dreams lights up Sioux Falls' skyline

The Arc of Dreams will light up downtown Sioux Falls every night for decades to come.

Less than 10 minutes before the 10 o'clock hour, as God Bless America belled out over the Big Sioux River, the Arc of Dreams donned red, white and blue while being formally dedicated during a ceremony Wednesday night as hundreds looked on.

"My hope is that this sculpture will honor the dreamers here tonight and inspire others to face the challenge and trust in the promise of their own dreams," said Dale Lamphere, South Dakota's artist laureate and the man who designed and built the Arc of Dreams, the Sioux Falls SculptureWalk's first-ever permanent piece.

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Early on in the conception and design phase of Sioux Falls SculptureWalk's vision for a sculpture that would straddle the Big Sioux River, Jim Clark and Paul Schiller hired Lamphere as the project artist.

It took several different concepts and designs before the artist and SculptureWalk settled on the two-part arc that incorporates the double helix found in DNA molecules. The structure weighs abut 60,000 pounds on each side, spans 280 feet from base to base and at its highest point stands 70 feet above the river.

Between the two halves of the arc is a 15-foot gap that Lamphere, Clark and others say represents the leap of faith required to achieve an ambitious goal.

Clark said Wednesday that it took hundreds of partners, including the 700 individuals, organizations and businesses that donated to the project, to make the Arc of Dreams a reality.

"It's the most arduous and stressful project that we've ever worked on because there are no blue prints," he said. "It's one of a kind, and there's nothing else like this in the world, and it's unbelievable that here we are standing underneath it today."

The arc's lights are expected to illuminate each evening from sundown until midnight.