Bill Russell statue to sit at City Hall Plaza

When it was announced back in May that Bill Russell, the greatest winner in the history of life, would finally be getting a statue in the city of Boston, there were still many questions that went unanswered after the announcement was over. Where would the statue be? What would it look like? Who would build it? What the heck took so long?

Fast forward to today and one of those questions has finally been answered. Bill Russell will forever be immortalized at City Hall Plaza, at a location near State Street. Celtics co-owner Steve Pagliuca and Mayor Thomas Menino came up with the idea for the location. (ESPN Boston)

During a site visit earlier this year, Pagliuca described how a sea of children swarmed Russell near that location, making him seem like a "living statue," and the idea snowballed from there. Menino suggested the area could one day become a plaza of champions, but that they will start with Boston's greatest champion in Russell. 

Look at Pags and Mumbles coming up big with an idea here. But in all honesty, I love how they came up with this. Sure, it would have been easy to put the statue in front of the Garden next to the Flying Orr or something, but why put in front of a building that he never played in? So that parents can tell their kids about how Russell won all those championships in the spot next to the building where the giant parking lot currently sits?

The City Hall spot shows that some thought was put into all of this. I never knew this story about Russell with the kids at City Hall. That's what made Russell so great. He was more than a basketball player. He was a transcendent figure and an icon and still is to this day. There's meaning to this spot that goes past what he did on the basketball court and it will be nice to have the statue right in the middle of the city for all to see.

The three finalists for to design the statue are Fern Cunningham, Antonio Mendez and Anne Hirsch. They will submit their ideas in October and Pagliuca hopes to unveil the statue next spring.

Then we can all say with confidence, "It's about time."