“Inspired by majestic Crystal Crag high above Lake Mary, the Gateway’s rugged and timeless design constructed of quarried granite blocks and massive raw steel conveys community pride, strength and a true sense of arrival,” according to the Gateway Project’s fundraising brochure. When it was produced, the project was an idea. Now, reality.

The Mammoth Gateway Community Project, spearheaded by Mammoth Lakes local Elizabeth Tenney, took nearly three years to realize. It could have taken much longer if she were not so practiced at gathering all the elements of a project, the people and materials, and moving them together in the same direction.

Tenney, a 12-year member of the Mammoth Lakes Planning Commission, is sometimes known as “Tenacious Tenney.” She can stay on point better than most scent hounds, not letting go until her mission is accomplished.

Her efforts began when, as an activist in the 1990s, she successfully fought an open-pit cyanide-heap-leach gold mine at Hot Creek, a hole that would have been bigger than the entire town of Mammoth Lakes.

In 2004 she turned dream into reality at the post office with a beautification project that brought cheerful flower gardens to enhance a gray government building, thus making the experience of checking for mail a happier one.

And now, according to Tenney herself, her final project: The Gateway, born of the belief that a place like Mammoth, which is the highest-elevation access to the Sierra Nevada, deserves a grand entrance. In fact, no national park has a more worthy portal than Mammoth now does. Mammoth is indeed a gateway to the Sierra, to abundant lakes, granite peaks, Yosemite National Park.

All of which is to say that she believes in this town. Beyond mere conviction, she is committed to Mammoth, and has put that belief into meaningful action, which included raising support for the Gateway project as well as $91,000 of substantial in-kind contributions in the face of some skepticism and doubt.

“Some people, I think, were resistant because they didn’t think a project this big could happen in the bad economy,” Tenney said. “Some thought the $250,000 the Mammoth Lakes Town Council dedicated to the Gateway came from the General Fund. It did not. The Town money came from the Public Art Fund, fees earmarked solely for public art that are paid by developers.”

In addition to Tenney’s one-on-one fundraising, Mammoth police and fire departments with the help of the Women’s Club threw a chili cook off. Dinners were hosted in private homes and restaurants to raise money.

“People would donate out of the blue,” Tenney said. “Lots of second homeowners and people whose love for Mammoth started when they were kids.”

In the end, the project came in under budget.

The Gateway is really two monuments, set across from each other on Hwy 203 as cars approach town after leaving U.S. 395. They come into view as you pass the RV Park on the south (left) and the Visitors Center on the north (right). Each pillared monument is topped by an amber light, reminiscent of the glow from a log cabin at dusk or a distant campfire.

The ground around the south monument is paved with bricks inscribed with messages and dedications. There is a band of bronze around the monument representing major donors. The Mammoth Community Water District has planted a demonstration garden to show what easy-to-grow and water-efficient native and other compatible plants flourish in this climate, thanks to the dream of former Water District manager Greg Norby. Water for the garden is courtesy of the County Court’s dedicated irrigation meter, thanks to Hector Gonzalez, Executive Officer of the Court.

A sculpted raw steel bench faces the Sherwins perpendicular to the monument. It was commissioned by Kim and Steve Klassen, designed by Larry Walker and built by Pete Del Guidice.

The north monument represents the community, with service organization plaques typically seen at town entrances: Lions and Rotary clubs, Mammoth Lakes Women’s Club, C.E.R.T., Mono County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue, Contractors Association, St. Joseph’s Catholic and the Lutheran churches.

Tenney is enormously respectful of and grateful to everyone who contributed to the realization of this project. “You get into something and you go so far and then you reach the tipping point. With help you can go the distance,” she said.

Designer Walker and architect Bruce Woodward will speak at Friday’s 9 a.m. dedication at the south monument, along with Mayor Rick Wood and Tourism Director John Urdi. Parking is available in the Courthouse lot on Thompson’s Way, just off Hwy 203.