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Columbus Monument (New York City)

Coordinates: 40°46′05.1″N 73°58′54.8″W / 40.768083°N 73.981889°W / 40.768083; -73.981889
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Columbus Monument
The monument in 2006
LocationColumbus Circle, Manhattan, New York, U.S.
Coordinates40°46′05.1″N 73°58′54.8″W / 40.768083°N 73.981889°W / 40.768083; -73.981889
Built1892 (1892)
NRHP reference No.100003133
NYSRHP No.06101.019547
Significant dates
Added to NRHPNovember 20, 2018
Designated NYSRHPSeptember 20, 2018[1]

The Columbus Monument is a 76-foot (23 m) column in the center of Columbus Circle in New York City honoring the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus, who first made an expedition to the New World in 1492. The monument was created by Italian sculptor Gaetano Russo in 1892.[2]

Description

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The monument consists of a 14-foot (4.3 m) marble statue of Christopher Columbus atop a 27.5-foot (8.4 m) granite rostral column[3] placed on a four-stepped granite pedestal.[4] The column is decorated with bronze projections representing Columbus' ships: the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa María; although actually they are depicted as Roman galleys (after the rostral column classical tradition) instead of caravels. Its pedestal features an angel holding a globe.[2]

History

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The monument was one of three planned as part of the city's 1892 commemoration of the 400th anniversary of Columbus' landing in the Americas.[4] Originally, the monument was planned to be located in Bowling Green or somewhere else in lower Manhattan. By the time Russo's plan was decided upon in 1890, a commission of Italian businessmen from around the United States had contributed $12,000 of the $20,000 needed to build the statue (equivalent to $407,000 of the $678,000 in cost in current dollars).[5] The statue was constructed with funds raised by Il Progresso, a New York City-based Italian-language newspaper.[2]

Russo created parts of the Columbus Column in his Rome studio and in other workshops in Italy;[4] the bronze elements were cast in the Nelli Foundry.[6] The completed column was shipped to the United States in September 1892 to be placed within the "circle at Fifty-ninth Street and Eighth Avenue".[7] Once the statue arrived in Manhattan, it was quickly transported to the circle.[3] The monument was officially unveiled with a ceremony on October 12, 1892, as part of the 400th anniversary celebration.[8][9][10]: 287 

Less than a decade later, when the original IRT subway construction commenced in 1901, one of the first stations structurally completed was the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line's 59th Street station, despite special engineering support that was required to protect the monument.[11]

During the construction of the New York City Subway's Eighth Avenue Line (A, ​B, ​C, and ​D trains) underneath the circle in the late 1920s and early 1930s, the Columbus statue was shored up with temporary supports.[12] Even so, the statue was shifted two inches north from its original position, and the top of the statue tilted 1.5 inches (3.8 cm). As a result, the statue was repaired and cleaned in 1934.[13] The monument received some retouching in 1992 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Columbus's voyage, and in turn, the monument's own 100th anniversary.[10]: 288  It was also rededicated in that same year.[14]

In 2012, the statue was used as the centerpiece of an interactive art installation by Tatzu Nishi entitled Discovering Columbus. The Public Art Fund described the project as follows:

Nishi’s project re-imagines the colossal 13-foot-tall statue of Columbus standing in a fully furnished, modern living room. Featuring tables, chairs, couch, rug, and flat-screen television, the décor reflects the artist’s interpretation of contemporary New York style. He even designed wallpaper inspired by memories of American popular culture, having watched Hollywood movies and television as a child in Japan. Discovering Columbus offers both a unique perspective on a historical monument and a surreal experience of the sculpture in a new context. Allowing us to take a journey up six flights of stairs to a fictional living room, Tatzu Nishi invites us to discover for ourselves where the imagination may lead.[15]

The monument became the subject of attention during the 2017 monument controversies in the United States. In August of that year, Mayor Bill de Blasio commissioned a 90-day review of potentially "hateful" monuments across the city to determine if any of them, including the Columbus Monument, warranted either removal or recontextualization (e.g., by explanatory plaques).[16][17][18] Those critical of Columbus called for the monument to be removed. The Columbus Citizens Foundation and many Italian Americans in New York opposed removal.[19][20] After two instances of vandalism in September 2017, including one incident where the statue was defaced with red paint,[18] full-time security measures were implemented ahead of the Columbus Day parade.[21]

On September 20, 2018, in a unanimous decision, the New York State Board of Historic Preservation voted to place the monument on the state historic register and nominate it to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), due to its significance.[22] Two months later, the National Park Service inscribed the monument on the NRHP.[23]

On September 19, 2023, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni visited the monument and, during a ceremony, laid a wreath in honor of Columbus.[24]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Cultural Resource Information System (CRIS)". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. November 7, 2014. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c "New York – Columbus Monument". www.vanderkrogt.net. Archived from the original on August 30, 2017. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
  3. ^ a b "ITALY'S GIFT IS HERE" (PDF). The Press. New York, New York. September 5, 1892. p. 2. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 12, 2022. Retrieved October 13, 2017 – via Fultonhistory.com.
  4. ^ a b c "COLUMBUS MEMORIALS.; THREE OF THEM SOON TO BE PRESENTED TO THIS CITY" (PDF). The New York Times. June 13, 1892. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 12, 2022. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
  5. ^ "FROM ITALIANS TO AMERICA.; THE GREAT STATUE OF COLUMBUS TO ADORN NEW-YORK" (PDF). The New York Times. July 9, 1890. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 18, 2022. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
  6. ^ "Central Park Monuments – Columbus Monument". New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Archived from the original on October 18, 2017. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
  7. ^ "THE COLUMBUS STATUE.; SAFE IN PORT ON BOARD THE TRANSPORT GARIGLIANO" (PDF). The New York Times. September 6, 1892. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 10, 2022. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
  8. ^ "THE VOYAGER IN MARBLE; UNVEILING OF THE GREAT COLUMBUS MONUMENT. IMPRESSIVE CEREMONIES VIEWED BY MANY THOUSANDS – POETIC ADDRESS BY MISS BARSOTTI – MUSIC AND MILITARY EVOLUTIONS THAT CHARMED THE PEOPLE" (PDF). The New York Times. October 13, 1892. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
  9. ^ "Columbus is Unveiled by a Little Girl" (PDF). New York Herald. October 13, 1892. p. 6. Retrieved October 13, 2017 – via Fultonhistory.com.
  10. ^ a b Jackson, Kenneth T., ed. (2010). The Encyclopedia of New York City (2nd ed.). New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-11465-2.
  11. ^ Framberger, David J. (1978). "Architectural Designs for New York's First Subway" (PDF). Historic American Engineering Record. pp. 1–46 (PDF pp. 367–412). Retrieved December 20, 2020. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  12. ^ Collins, F.a. (October 10, 1926). "NEW SUBWAY BURROWS UNDER NEW YORK; Old Open Trench Methods No Longer Employed – Complicated Machinery Carries Huge Task Forward". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 7, 2018. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
  13. ^ "Columbus Gleams White As Circle Job Is Finished". The New York Times. November 10, 1934. Archived from the original on October 7, 2018. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
  14. ^ Barron, James (June 21, 1991). "At a Party for Columbus, a Few Uninvited Guests". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on October 14, 2017. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
  15. ^ "Discovering Columbus - Public Art Fund". www.publicartfund.org. Archived from the original on November 25, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  16. ^ Neuman, William (August 30, 2017). "Ordering Review of Statues Puts de Blasio in Tricky Spot". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on November 19, 2017. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
  17. ^ Helmore, Edward (August 25, 2017). "New York mayor considers Christopher Columbus statue removal". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on October 15, 2017. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
  18. ^ a b Katz, Brigit (September 13, 2017). "Christopher Columbus Monument Defaced in Central Park". Smithsonian. Archived from the original on June 15, 2019. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  19. ^ Rosenberg, Zoe (August 23, 2017). "Elected officials call for removal of Christopher Columbus statue near Central Park". Curbed NY. Archived from the original on October 15, 2017. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
  20. ^ "Columbus Day Parade Organizers Fight To Keep Statue In Columbus Circle". CBS New York. August 30, 2017. Archived from the original on October 15, 2017. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
  21. ^ Wootson Jr., Cleve R. (October 7, 2017). "Why police have to guard a statue of Christopher Columbus in New York around the clock". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on October 15, 2017. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
  22. ^ State designates Columbus Circle monument as landmark Archived 2020-02-27 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved October 5, 2018
  23. ^ "Weekly List 20181123". U.S. National Park Service. November 23, 2018. Archived from the original on November 29, 2018. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
  24. ^ Campanile, Carl (September 20, 2023). "Italian PM Giorgia Meloni pops up to honor NYC's Christopher Columbus statue as 'woke' pols mull taking it down". New York Post. Retrieved September 24, 2023.
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