It happened, as these things have a tendency to, in the dead of night.
Exactly a week before the 7 p.m. commemoration on Wednesday, November 20, construction crews took to Seventh Avenue and Indian School Road, just yards north of the intersection, and secured a steel structure meant to give the Melrose District not only a facelift but also a tangible identity.
The Melrose Arch, as it is being called, came as a quiet surprise to morning commuters Thursday, but for residents and business owners, it was a long time coming.