Nov. 5, 2009 (PR Newswire) --

PITTSBURGH, Nov. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Several hundred friends and dignitaries joined Mrs. Joanne Rogers along with children from the southwestern Pennsylvania region as they gathered on Pittsburgh's North Shore this morning for the unveiling and dedication of the world's first public sculpture of the beloved American icon, Fred M. Rogers.

Known as "Tribute to Children," the site featuring the new sculpture opens to the public today in a park on the riverfront near Pittsburgh Steelers' Heinz Field. The bronze sculpture of children's television pioneer Mister Rogers - created by internationally renowned sculptor Robert Berks - measures 10 feet, 10 inches in height and weighs more than 7,000 pounds. In a seated position and tying his shoe, the embodiment of Fred Rogers faces the city skyline from where his "beautiful day in this neighborhood" message resonates internationally for more than four decades from the Pittsburgh studio of public television station WQED.

A fitting tribute to children everywhere, and following 20 months of site construction, this new destination for visitors was presented today to local authorities as a gift to the people of the City of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County in honor of children and celebrating the enduring values of Fred Rogers. The late Cordelia S. May donated the sculpture to Family Communications, the company created by Fred Rogers. Pittsburgh-based Colcom Foundation, which was founded by Mrs. May, provided funding for the site development as well as its perpetual maintenance.

Mrs. Joanne Rogers, City of Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato and officials from Colcom Foundation and Family Communications attended this morning's unveiling ceremony, accompanied by students from Pittsburgh Public Schools' Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA) magnet school who performed during the ceremony.

Six years in the making

The late Mrs. Cordelia S. May, a local philanthropist and humanitarian, commissioned Robert Berks to produce the bronze sculpture of her dear friend, Fred Rogers, following his death in 2003. "Robert Berks is an internationally-recognized artist whose sculptures were known and admired both by Mrs. May and Mr. Rogers," according to Michael M. Strueber, director emeritus of the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art and a director of Colcom Foundation. "Berks' public works cover a broad cross-section of human achievement as he created more than 300 portraits in bronze and more than a dozen monuments. His famous sculptures of President John F.