The Leonard Nimoy Memorial proposed for the grounds of the Museum of Science has come one step closer to reality, after a local tech innovator’s recent six-figure donation helped push the project past the halfway mark for its $500,000 fundraising goal.
The museum has partnered with the Nimoy family and Massachusetts artist David Phillips to build a proposed 20-foot-tall stainless-steel monument that would pay tribute to Mr. Spock, the character that Leonard, a native of the West End, first portrayed on the classic 1960s TV series “Star Trek.” The monument would depict Mr. Spock’s iconic Vulcan hand salutation comprising a raised hand with the palm forward and thumb extended while the middle and ring fingers parted (and which is usually accompanied by Mr. Spock’s spoken expression of well-wishing, “Live Long and Prosper”). It would be illuminated from within using LED lighting.
The plans for the memorial were first announced on March 26, 2021, which would’ve been Nimoy’s 90th birthday and was proclaimed “Leonard Nimoy Day” in the City of Boston by then-Mayor Martin Walsh.
“The ‘Live Long and Prosper’ symbol represents a message that my dad believed so strongly in,” said Leonard’s daughter, Julie Nimoy, in a press release at the time of the announcement. “My dad always loved Boston and he would be honored knowing that the Museum of Science would be the permanent home to this memorial. The sculpture not only depicts one of the world’s most recognized and loved gestures for peace, tolerance, and diversity, but it will also be a beautiful tribute to my dad’s life and legacy.”
The proposed memorial is the brainchild of Tom Stocker, a visual artist who lives on Northampton Street in the South End. Stocker began his efforts to memorialize Nimoy in his hometown in earnest around 2018 after watching “Leonard Nimoy’s Boston” – a half-hour special that first aired on WGBH-TV in 2014 in which Nimoy, accompanied by his filmmaker son, Adam, returned to his native city to reminisce about growing up in the old West End as the son of Jewish immigrants from Ukraine.
As of Wednesday, March 1, nearly $288,000 towards the $500,000 fundraising goal for the memorial had been raised.
To donate, visit mos.org/Nimoy.