On August 7, 1951 Illinois Governor Adlai E. Stevenson II signed a bill into law which transferred ownership of a section of the park to Northern Illinois Teachers College, now Northern Illinois University (NIU). The land encompassed the former Eagle's Nest Art Colony and its buildings, the Black Hawk Statue was not included in the land transfer. The area is now known as the NIU Lorado Taft Field Campus. Lowden State Park was one of eleven state parks slated to close indefinitely on November 1, 2008 due to budget cuts by former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich. After delay, which restored funding for some of the parks, a proposal to close seven state parks and a dozen state historic sites, including Lowden, went ahead on November 30, 2008. After the impeachment of Illinois Governor Blagojevich, new governor Pat Quinn reopened the closed state parks in February. In March 2009 Quinn announced he is committed to reopening the state historic sites by June 30, 2009. "The Eternal Indian", unofficially known as the Black Hawk Statue, was created by Lorado Taft and John G. Prasuhn, beginning in 1908. Taft at first created smaller studies of what would become the statue. The statue itself was dedicated in 1911, Taft noted at the dedication that the statue seemed to have grown out of the ground. It stands on the ground that was once home to the Eagle's Nest Art Colony, which Taft founded in 1898. The statue stands above the Rock River, though its height only accounts for of that. Black Hawk weighs and is said to be the second largest concrete monolithic statue in the world. Taft said the statue was inspired by the Sac leader Black Hawk, although it is not a likeness of the chief. Though never publicized at the time of construction, when funds were exhausted the park's namesake, Frank Lowden had stepped in to ensure the completion of Black Hawk was financially possible. The statue is deteriorating and has been wrapped for protection in the 2010 decade. Raising funds for the restoration and agreement on how to proceed with repairs are both at issue. A community meeting in early 2018 brought interested agencies and community residents together to discuss solutions; Illinois Conservation Foundation remains optimistic that the statue will be repaired when “1 or 2 charitable angels” appear. The state’s Department of Natural Resources has not offered any funds; the loss of the statue for viewing has led to a lower number of visitors to the park. Aside from Taft's colossal statue the park has scenic views of the Rock River beneath the bluffs.