The Beachcomber Memorial

A rhythmic arc of memory—where granite, shoreline, and echoes of music meet in tribute.

PROJECT SNAPSHOT

Client: City of Quincy

Materials: Honed Granite

Location: Quincy, MA

Year: 2025

Scale: 50' x 1' x 7' (5 sculpted panels)

Project Type: Public Memorial / Cultural Tribute

Collaborators:

Artistic Design and Sculpture by Ryan Ackerman

Design, Research and Collaboration by Lennie Peterson

PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS

  • Five vertical granite panels featuring etched portraits and curated text

  • Honed and sandblasted finishes for contemporary clarity and tactile presence

  • Subjects include Tony Bennett, Count Basie, Louis Armstrong, Loretta Lynn, Linda Ronstadt, and The Dropkick Murphys

  • Concept shaped through interviews with performers, historians, and community members

  • Sited along a curved path in a new shoreline park with open views of Quincy Bay

THE STORY

The Beachcomber Memorial was commissioned to honor one of Quincy’s most iconic cultural spaces—a legendary nightclub that, for over 70 years, served as both stage and sanctuary for some of music’s most celebrated names, and a social hub for generations of locals. Though the venue is long gone, its spirit lives on—in stories, in memories, and now, in sculptural form.

Ryan Ackerman was brought in to lead the design and fabrication of a permanent public installation that would pay tribute to the Beachcomber’s legacy without relying on nostalgia or recreating the past. He partnered with artist and musician Lennie Peterson, who led an extensive research process—interviewing local historians, performers, patrons, and city officials to build the emotional foundation for the project.

From that research emerged a clear vision: Not a monument to a building, but a monument to a feeling.

The final installation features five upright granite panels, each carefully honed and sandblasted, ranging from five to seven feet tall.

Their surfaces carry etched portraits of musical icons who graced the Beachcomber stage—from jazz legends to local rock royalty—paired with excerpts of narrative text that celebrate the cultural breadth and community significance of the club. The panel’s portraits include Tony Bennett, Count Basie, Louis Armstrong, Linda Ronstadt, Loretta Lynn, and The Dropkick Murphys.

The duo approached the project design with a focus on research, both written and oral. Lennie started with archives from the Thomas Crane Public Library, researching published show billings. The real trove of information came from interviewing people. A recurring theme of connectedness and home away from home emerged. It took more than half a year of documentation and strategizing for the narrative to reveal itself.

The panels unfold along a gently curving path that follows the shoreline’s natural contour & rhythm. The layout invites movement and pause, reflection and flow. Visitors move with the arc of the installation, accompanied by views of Quincy Bay—a subtle nod to the tides of time, memory, and music.

The design avoids overt ornamentation. Instead, it speaks through clean lines, timeless materials, and intentional pacing. It captures the spirit of a place and time without recreating it—transforming memory into material, and music into monument. Allowing stories to come to life.

Ryan's work achieves a perfect blend of artisan skill and aesthetics-craftsmanship meets Art meets innovation. He is somehow able to translate original, uniquely creative concepts into final results with a universal appeal. This is not an easy accomplishment in any of the Arts disciplines and Ryan pulls it off with the skill of a master.

— Co-Designer Lennie Peterson, Artist/Illustrator/Musician