It’s a sign of things to come.

Holidays, community celebrations, and acknowledging Manteca High, East Union, and Sierra high school sports championships.

And even before it was officially “dedicated”, the Manteca Arch was already getting a shout out — literally.

State Senator Jerry McNerney’s field representative Bhajleen Khalsa was speaking to about 150 people gathered for Thursday’s ribbon cutting on South Main Street between Wetmore Street and Moffat Boulevard when a driver being detoured down Oak Street yelled out, “I love it!”

That isn’t likely a universal community feeling, but even initial opponents of the $620,000 project were impressed.

“I didn’t care for the price tag, but I’m glad we did it,” said Regina Lackey, one of two council members that voted against funding the arch.

City Manager Toni Lundgren sees the 92-foot, 4-inch arch spanning Main Street as more than just 10,000 pounds of steel anchored in concrete footings 13 feet deep, and featuring 2,800 LED lights that can be programmed to change colors.

Lundgren expects the arch manufactured and installed by Fusion Signs to provide Manteca with a sense of community and pride.

She’s looking forward to the ability of the LED lights at night to call attention to holidays and community events such as the Pumpkin Fair as well as to celebrate future sports championships by Manteca, East Union, and Sierra high schools.

Lundgren noted that she saw a photo from 1914 in the historic IOOF Hall the city is in the process of buying.

The photo was of a banner simply reading “Manteca” hanging across what was then a dirt street that is today Yosemite Avenue.

She noted it was clearly a source of pride for the growing community to display the township’s name above what was then the main thoroughfare. Lundgren wanted to celebrate Manteca the same way today with an arch.

“It just said ‘Manteca’,” Lundgren said of the banner from 112 years ago.

People suggested the arch have things added such as wording regarding Manteca being the Family City or bragging about being the No. 1 for pumpkin and watermelon growing in California, among other things.

“All of those things would cost extra money,” Lundgren while indicating she wanted to “keep the project in budget.”

Mayor Gary Singh agreed.

“It’s about community pride,” he said of the arch where, earlier in the day, nearby Manteca Floral added floral displays atop the support pillars.

“The arch stands as a symbol of what we can accomplish as a community,” Singh added.

Councilman Mike Morowit noted “you can’t sit on it like (the giant Adirondack) chair” in reference to the other “big” addition the city has made to downtown at the corner of Center Street and Sycamore Avenue by the Manteca Library.

“We know this is Manteca,” Morowit said of the obvious.

But he saw the arch — especially with its techie programmable LED lighting — as a way to express community pride and celebrate past, present, and future accomplsishments.

Brian Johnson of Fusion Signs noted the programmable arch lighting is unique, although they have installed two similar 24-foot arches in South California. The Manteca arch spans almost four times the distance of the SoCal counterparts.

Charles Paz, president of the fledgling Downtown Manteca Business Improvement District, sees the arch of an extension of applying the broken window theory where if things aren’t kept acceptable and in good repair, it leads to decay.

“Little things like (an oversized) chair or an arch” do help make a difference, Paz said.

Those in attendance lined the street below the arch pillar to pillar for photos before Singh cut the ribbon.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com