WOBURN - After two to three months of deliberation, the Marlowe Park Dedication Committee has decided upon a location for the John J. Marlowe Memorial Plaque, namely, a plaque imbedded in the rock, water fountain on the left hand side of the waterfalls.

The dedication of the park will be on Wednesday, September 10 at 6 p.m.

The decision to place the bronze plaque came after major consideration by his family in the presence of his wife, Nancy, and son, John Jr., who had considered several other options during the location process.

John F. Marlowe was the chairman of the Woburn Redevelopment Authority for nearly two decades during major upgrades of the Woburn Center area, including the construction of the park itself (currently, Citizens Park but owned by the city of Woburn).

Technically, the plaque and park will be called the "John F. 'Jack' Marlowe Park." Stone cutters were cutting the rock at the waterfall on Thursday morning in the first stages of installing the plaque.

The site itself has been an area of celebrations and concerts since its opening on June 14, 2003 and was a major source of pride for WRA chairman Marlowe, who passed away on October 23, 2007. WRA Ch'm. Marlowe had been a major principal and speaker at the dedication of the park.

A Woburn sculptor, Robert Shure of Skylight Studios on Salem Street, worked with the Marlowe family, the WRA and the committee to arrive at a suitable plaque to commemorate Marlowe's major civic energies and accomplishments.

At a meeting of the WRA this week, there was some thought given to the theft of bronze plaques in the area in recent years. Plaques have been stolen at areas like the Cranberry Bog in East Woburn and Gonsalves Park in West Woburn.

"What would be the cost of another one?" asked WRA member Richard Miliiano, looking to the future. WRA members, however, pointed to the high visibility of the site and the secure footing of plaque itself.

WRA Executive Director Donald Borchelt pointed out there will be a lot of people in the area with a busy new restaurant (Time-Out) expected to be a reality in a year's time.

Members also felt more traffic would also mean more exposure for the plaque and the reading of the plaque.

The plaque reads:

John F. "Jack" Marlowe

Chairman of the Woburn Redevelopment Authority

1987-2007

Dedicated Sept. 10, 2008 in grateful recognition of his tireless dedication and vision for the progress of his beloved City of Woburn

WRA officials, including Chairman Donald Queenin, who succeeded Marlowe, had considered a number of different options. They pointed out the Marlowe Dedication Committee has selected a location "directly on the rock face, immediately to the left of the area subject to the flow of water."

WRA Executive Director Donald Borchelt had attached a computer rendering of the proposed location.

Borchelt pointed out: "This area has a natural indentation in the rock, which will minimize the amount of cutting that will be necessary for the creation of the pocket needed to receive the plaque."

The plaque will be 26.6 inches in height, and 21.3 inches in width, and approximately 3/4 of an inch in depth. The pocket will be approximately 1 inch in depth, to receive the plaque. The work will be done by M. Solberg Enterprises of Winchester, a concrete cutting firm which has done a number of similar projects with Bob Shure of Skylight Studios, who highly recommended them.

Earlier in the week, Borchelt told his five-member board, "As the property is still under the ownership and control of the WRA, I am requesting that the members authorize the installation of the plaque in the proposed location."

The WRA is currently nearing final negotiations with Leo Realty Holdings L.L.C. to purchase the building at 371 Main St. A three-story, brick building will replace the current WRA building next to Moore & Parker's at the Busy Bend.

In the area of the plaque, two elevators will be place: one vertical elevator leading to the city's municipal parking lot and a second, a vertical chairlift lift adjacent to the municipal elevator to serve the restaurants main floor and to go down to a cellar area of the restaurant.

The renaming of the park was given major blessings by officials at Citizens Bank who deeded the property to the city a short time ago.