Spokane, WA

Smiling, bronze Michael Anderson kneels in a space suit, holding a space helmet in one hand while releasing a dove toward the Spokane Opera House with the other. Anderson, a Spokane native, was the payload commander of the Space Shuttle Columbia when it blew apart on reentry in 2003. "Keeping this Dream Alive" is inscribed into his statue's base.

The statue was unveiled in 2005. It was originally intended to stand outside of "Mobius," Spokane's science center, but budget woes delayed the science center's construction. Bronze Anderson, for the foreseeable future, will make his peace offering to Spokane's opera buffs.