Barber Builds On

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

Palisadian Steven Barber likes nothing better than shining the light on American history.

He was able to build Apollo 11 and Apollo 13 monuments for NASA, he finished his second Sally Ride (the first American woman in space) monument at Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley in 2023, and his vision led to the unveiling of a monument of President Donald Trump in Florida earlier this year.

“In our country’s history, nobody’s ever been able to build a monument of a sitting president while in office,” Barber said. “That was my finest moment.”

Barber is busy these days, as he is now orchestrating the building of the bust and podium for the 39th U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who served one term (from 1977-81) and died in December 2024 at the age of 100.

The sculptors are brothers Mark and George Lundeen and artist Joey Bainer. Barber said the unveiling will take place at U.S. Naval Academy Museum in Annapolis in 2026 during the 250th anniversary of America celebrations.

Barber has also been commissioned to build a second Trump monument, this one of the moment he came down the escalator at Trump Tower upon announcing he was running for president. That could be unveiled next July 4 on America’s 250th birthday.

Barber said he is working with the Trump administration on building monuments of additional former presidents, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln, as well as Founding Father Benjamin Franklin.

“This journey has been absolutely amazing,” Barber said. “I started out eight years ago with a vision to build the Apollo 11 monument, and I’ve been going strong ever since. I’m about shining the light on American exceptionalism, whether that be in the areas of science, government or entertainment. I try to rise above all of the political fray because I don’t make policy and I don’t make history, I simply record it.”

Barber said talks are going well in regards to a monument for the 42nd U.S. President Bill Clinton. He has also pitched a monument of hockey star Alexander Ovechkin, who became the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer on April 6 when he tallied the 895th of his career to pass Wayne Gretzky.

“What I love about America is that if you have a vision, if you never quit, if you improvise, if you stay the course, you can’t fail in America,” Barber said. “Failure is simply not an option.”