Local News in Brief : War Memorial Unveiled

A controversial war memorial that sparked a battle around Burbank City Hall has been unveiled with little fuss. Sculptor Erwin Binder’s 12-foot tribute to war veterans, an abstract piece in the shape of a flame titled “Requiem,” was uncovered to thunderous applause from 200 people Friday in Buena Vista Park.

Among those in attendance were city officials who had criticized renderings of the sculpture and the artistic taste of Councilman Michael Hastings, who asked Binder to create the sculpture last year. But the controversy disappeared during the ceremonies; Councilman Robert R. Bowne, the most vocal critic of the sculpture, called it “really nice. It’s a lot more beautiful than I thought it would be.”

Entertainer Bob Hope, who staged a fund-raiser for the sculpture earlier this year that helped pay for the work, said at Friday’s ceremony: “Rumor has it that George Burns and I were at the original signing of the Constitution. That’s not true. I was entertaining at a benefit in Bakersfield.”