Welcoming the guests from off the S.S. Badger Lake Michigan Carferry is the 12-foot "Shipbuilder" the Badger sculpture. Designed to be turned 360 degrees, the sculpture can wave to passanges during the sailing season and turn back to wave to the community when the ferry is gone. Photos taken with the right angle can capture a peak of the Manitowoc Breakwater Lighthouse in the background. Visit during the hours of 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. from mid-May through mid-October to capture a picture with the S.S. Badger in the background.

Artist: Carl Vanderheyden, 2020

The inspiration for this mural was local philanthorpist Ruth West, who was an active in the Manitowoc community and a major arts advocate. Mrs. West passed away in 1990, yet during her life she made art accessible to everyone in our community. Her legacy remains strong today. Her collection is the heart of the Rahr-West Art Museum and her gardens on the shore of Lake Michigan are open to the public as West of the Lake Gardens thanks to the West Foundation. Both organizations are free and open to all.

“I have been generously endowed with an imagination and given the health and strength to do its bidding.” - Ruth West from her biography by local Dolly Stokes and published in “Wisconsin Women – A Gifted Heritage” by the American Association of University Women in 1983.

The mural was done in collaboration by Erin LaBonte, Becca Jabs, David Carpenter, and Don Krumpos.

​This is a tribute to avid local watercolor artist and educator, Ron Stokes. Ron liked to experiment in other mediums and was a lifelong arts educator with more than 30 years working in the Manitowoc Public School District.  He developed a highly stylized style of painting trees with round tops, sometimes referred to as “lollypop trees.”  In addition, he painted small animals like rabbits and frogs and often gave them as gifts. 

Artist: Erin LaBonte in collaboration with Don Krumpos, David Carpenter, Silver Lake College Art Students & Manitowoc Community Members, 2019

Makili, is a full-size horse sculpture created by Deborah Butterfield in her signature style, installed on the front lawn of the Rahr-West Art Museum in 2023.

Deborah Butterfield is a major American sculptor best known for her life-size bronze horses. Born in 1949 in San Diego, California, Butterfield taught at the University of Wisconsin—Madison and Montana State University in the 1970s and 80s. She divides her time between three studios: her horse ranch in Bozeman, Montana; a large-scale studio in Walla Walla, Washington near the foundry she uses; and in Hawaii, where she created this sculpture as a private commission in 1996. Makili means “to appear through a crack, to come to light” in Hawaiian.

The idea for this sculpture was conceived by City of Manitowoc Water Treatement Facility employee Scott Krause in 2015.  In 2020, a local painting firm, Elliot Painting, did the white and red portions while Erin LaBonte and Don Krumpos added the rainbow trout and welcome message on the giant gas sphere.  While it might not be the largest bobber in the world, it is definitely the largest one in Manitowoc! It is a welcome addition to our lakefront and for folks that travel across Lake Michigan on the S.S. Badger.