After a three-year wait, the 8-foot-bronze statue of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was unveiled at the Georgia Capitol at 10 a.m. Monday.

The sculpture is from at least two blocks away, along the boulevard named for the civil rights icon.

“He’s gazing slightly toward MLK Boulevard,” said sculptor Martin Dawe. “You make people smile not by the mouth but by the eyes, so I have a slight glimmer that I hope comes through.”