The Upward Niagara River Region Chamber of Commerce hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday for Dan Buttery, in celebration of the new “Lewiston Landing” sign he crafted and installed on North Water Street. Local business leaders joined Village of Lewiston Mayor Anne Welch and Trustee Dan Gibson, Town of Lewiston Supervisor Steve Broderick and Councilman Bill Geiben, Town of Porter Supervisor John “Duffy” Johnston and Assemblyman Angelo Morinello in commending Buttery on the new art piece.

Buttery, a Lewiston native and the operator of Black Lab Metal Fab, recently told the Niagara County Tribune/Sentinel, “There was really never a Lewiston sign that stood out, where, say everybody went on vacation, they didn't have a sign where they could take a picture to say where they were at. Now, with this sign and the magnitude of it, I think it's going to be a good sign for Lewiston.”

The two-tier sign features the word “Lewiston” displayed in 4-foot letters atop risers. Below that, “Landing” letters are 3 feet tall situated on 6-inch platforms. Next to the wording sits a pair of fish, each one just under 5 feet tall.

Welch said, “I would like to thank local artist Dan Buttery for the beautiful ‘Lewiston Landing’ sign. I first met Dan at an art committee meeting where I asked local artists, art representatives, and other interested parties to help me promote public art in the village. It was a great group with a lot of great ideas, until COVID hit and we had to suspend our meetings. Dan expressed that he wanted to do something for his community, so we looked at this old step garden and he had a vision of what he could do there. He designed, created, installed and donated this beautiful sign with these spectacular fish.

“We never had a sign identifying the park, and now we do. This beautiful sign is an asset to our village, and now people will actually know the name of our park. It is a great backdrop for photos from people visiting our area. 

“Dan would not let me see the sign until it was installed, so he called me when it was done and asked me to meet him here. I pulled into the parking lot and immediately began to cry. This is unbelievable! Dan, I can’t begin to thank you enough for what you have done for this community. This is just a start to our goal of public art in the village.”

"I also want to thank Chris Stanek/Stanek Electricity, and Jeffery Barker for helping to install the sign; and Zack Cooper, Glen Strzelczyk, Chad Harrington and Drew Hillman, who did the concrete; Mike Karbowski, Blooms Landscaping; and John Dominick, Bison Construction, for the glow rocks.

“It is truly a blessing to have such wonderful, caring young people in our community who stepped up to do this project.”

GM/Managing Editor Joshua Maloni contributed to this report and took the photos.

PHOTOS:

Dan Buttery

Jennifer Pauly welcomes the crowd.

See also >> 'Lewiston Landing' sign unveiled