On Sept. 29, the city installed the artwork for the new plaza—oversized acrylic cherries, pears, peaches and apples—to add a touch of Sunnyvale's past to the new spot.

Kristin Dance, recreation coordinator in charge of arts for the city, said the art is the fruit of almost two years of work by the city to find a suitable project.

"I think that it adds a really lively touch to the downtown area, especially with the splash of color," Dance said.

In October of 2002, the city collected designs from four applicants—including a circus theme and the winning fruit selection—and the council selected the final design on Dec. 10, 2002. Four potential artists were part of a group of 19 invited by the city to submit proposals.

Winters resident Gerald Heffernon—who previously worked on a Sacramento light-rail station—won the contract. He was invited because architects working on the plaza knew him from past projects.

Heffernon, 57, has been an artist since the late '70s when he started doing public projects in Madison, Wisc. He said he likes doing pieces that are larger than life, and his style worked well with what the city was looking for. Heffernon made a giant tomato for a project in Davis, so he is familiar with the oversized-fruit theme.

"One of the things they wanted to do was something that made reference to the history of the area, and since it was once a big fruit-growing region, I did some research on what kinds of fruit were grown in town," Heffernon said. "I also kind of liked the idea of doing something that added color to an area that was going to be pretty heavily concrete."

Each piece of fruit was cast in aluminum, to make it strong enough to withstand the outdoors, but light enough to be moved around and worked on. A process called "powder coating," in which paint is applied with heat, was used to make a color that could handle inclement weather. Finally, a clear, shiny polymer coating was added to protect the piece and make graffiti removal easier.

Originally there were six fruits planned, but budget cuts trimmed the crop to the four selected by the arts commission.

Dane Andrew Beezley, former chair of the arts commission, who was part of the group that selected the design, said that the city made the best of a selection limited by budget and time constraints.

"It was important to get the fruits in, especially in an area where much of the land was orchards and in an area that gets a lot of visitors who may not know that Sunnyvale used to be all orchards," Beezley said.

Heffernon, Dance and Beezley said that what little response they've gotten so far has been positive, but it's still to early to judge what the public really thinks of the new plaza residents.

"Hopefully people will realize that it's not just fruit on blocks, but that it's a part of Sunnyvale's history," Beezley said.