Throwback Thursday: Monona Sails

In 2002, Springfield Welding & Manufacturing was commissioned to fabricate the Monona Sails for the City of Monona. These massive aluminum sails took our shop three months to complete with a team of welders.  

The Monona Sails were about thirty-two feet tall and thirty-one feet across, and required two inch thick base plates to help anchor them to the ground for installation at the site. In order to avoid obstructing traffic, we had to transport the Monona Sails on three separate trailers at three a.m. to their final destination right off the beltline. We had four employees dedicated to installing the Monona Sails, which took about five hours from start to finish, and included the help of a crane operator that was needed to lift and place the sails properly. The fabric covering them to give the true “sail” look was added later after Springfield Welding & Manufacturing had completed the installation. 

Springfield Welding & Manufacturing still takes great pride in our work on this iconic sculpture and has taken on other artistic sculptural work since then. You can see the Monona Sails most easily when traveling west along the beltline or when exiting the beltline onto the Monona exit.