| Statue of Christopher Columbus | |
|---|---|
 The statue in 2015 | |
 | |
| Year | 1927 |
| Subject | Christopher Columbus |
| Condition | Damaged |
| Location | Richmond, Virginia, U.S. |
| 37°32′47.2″N77°28′44.5″W / 37.546444°N 77.479028°W Coordinates: 37°32′47.2″N77°28′44.5″W / 37.546444°N 77.479028°W | |
A statue of Christopher Columbus was installed in Richmond, Virginia in 1927, where it stood until 2020 when it was torn down by protestors in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and thrown into a nearby lake. [1]
In 1925, Frank Realmuto (a Richmond barber) organized a campaign to donate a statue of Christopher Columbus to Richmond's Monument Avenue; this campaign was supported by Richmond's approximately 1,000 Italian-American residents. [2] [3] In May 1925, the Richmond City Council rejected a proposal to donate land for the statue alongside Monument Avenue on the basis that Columbus was both a foreigner and a Catholic; most of the council members believed that putting Columbus near monuments to revered Confederate figures would be inappropriate. [3] This decision was widely criticized in newspaper editorials published across the United States, especially when it came to light that an opponent of the statue who spoke at the meeting was a member of a coalition that included the Ku Klux Klan. [2] In June 1925, a committee of the Richmond city council decided to allocate land near Byrd Park for the statue. [2] Fundraising began in February 1926 [3] while Ferruccio Legnaioli, an Italian immigrant to Richmond, was selected to design the statue. [2] Ground was broken in June 1926. [3]
The statue was dedicated on December 9, 1927. [2] Over 2,000 people attended the dedication despite near freezing temperatures. [3] At the dedication, Virginia Governor Harry F. Byrd praised Italian dictator Benito Mussolini while Italian ambassador Giacomo de Martino claimed Italy sought peace. [2] The ceremony concluded with de Martino pulling a cord to display an Italian and an American flag and the firing of a two-gun salute. [2]
For decades, members Richmond's Italian-American community gathered near the statue on the eve of Columbus Day to celebrate Columbus and their culture. [4] During the 2010s, the statue was repeatedly vandalized; these vandalizations coincided with increased opposition to Columbus Day and efforts to recognize indigenous peoples. [5] On June 9, 2020, the statue was torn down, spray-painted, set on fire, and thrown into a nearby lake by individuals protesting the May 2020 murder of George Floyd. [6] [7] The protestors stated they were acting in solidarity with Native Americans; vandalism to the statue's base noted it was built on land belonging to the Powhatan. [6] The statue was recovered from the lake on June 10 and taken away to be stored in a secure place. [8]
In 2022, it was announced that the sculpture would be given to the Italian American Cultural Association of Virginia. A decision on its future placement has not been made. [9]
Byrd Park, also known as William Byrd Park, is a public park located in Richmond, Virginia, United States, north of the James River and adjacent to Maymont. The 200-acre (0.81 km2) park includes a mile-long trail with exercise stops, monuments, an amphitheatre, and three small lakes: Shields, Swan, and Boat Lake. Boat Lake has a lighted fountain at its center. Visitors can rent pedal boats there in season. The park includes tennis courts, Little League baseball fields, and a children's playground. The historic round house and Poplar Vale Cemetery are also located in the park. It is named after William Byrd II, whose family owned much of the area when Richmond was founded in 1737. The park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.
Monument Avenue is a tree-lined grassy mall dividing the eastbound and westbound traffic in Richmond, Virginia, originally named for its emblematic complex of structures honoring those who fought for the Confederacy during the American Civil War. Between 1900 and 1925, Monument Avenue greatly expanded with architecturally significant houses, churches, and apartment buildings. Four of the bronze statues representing J. E. B. Stuart, Stonewall Jackson, Jefferson Davis and Matthew Fontaine Maury were removed from their memorial pedestals amidst civil unrest in July 2020. The Robert E. Lee monument was handled differently as it was owned by the Commonwealth, in contrast with the other monuments which were owned by the city. Dedicated in 1890, it was removed on September 8, 2021. The last remaining statue on Monument Avenue is the Arthur Ashe Monument, memorializing the African-American tennis champion, dedicated in 1996.
Monroe Park is a 7.5 acres (3.0 ha) landscaped park 1 mile (1.6 km) northwest of the Virginia State Capitol Building in Richmond, Virginia. It is named after James Monroe, the fifth President of the United States (1817–1825). The park unofficially demarcates the eastern point of the Fan District and is Richmond's oldest park. It occupies the center of the Virginia Commonwealth University Monroe Park Campus.
Christopher Columbus is a bronze statue by sculptor Carlo Brioschi. The statue of Christopher Columbus was installed in Chicago's Grant Park, in the U.S. state of Illinois. Created by the Milanese-born sculptor and installed in 1933, it was set on an exedra and pedestal designed with the help of architect Clarence H. Johnston. It was removed and put in storage in 2020.
Bayfront Park is a 32-acre (13 ha) public, urban park in Downtown Miami, Florida on Biscayne Bay. The Chairman to the trust is Ary Shaeban. Located in the park is a bronze statue of Christopher Columbus sculpted by Count Vittorio di Colbertaldo of Verona, one of Benito Mussolini’s hand picked ceremonial bodyguards known as the “Black Musketeers.”
An outdoor 1992 bronze sculpture of Christopher Columbus by Joe Incrapera was installed in Houston's Bell Park, in the U.S. state of Texas. It was later removed in 2020 after a history of vandalism.
Christopher Columbus, or simply Columbus, is a 1955 sculpture by Edoardo Alfieri, originally installed outside Columbus, Ohio's City Hall, in the United States. The statue was unveiled in 1955, celebrating Christopher Columbus's voyages to the New World. It was removed in July 2020, in light of the explorer's abusive relationship with indigenous Americans.
Richmond, Virginia, experienced a series of protests in the wake of the murder of George Floyd. Richmond was the first city in the Southeastern United States to see rioting following Floyd's murder. Richmond, formerly the capital of the short-lived Confederate States of America, saw much arson and vandalism to monuments connected with that polity, particularly along Monument Avenue.
The Jefferson Davis Memorial was a memorial for Jefferson Davis (1808–1889), president of the Confederate States of America from 1861 to 1865, installed along Richmond, Virginia's Monument Avenue, in the United States. The monument was unveiled on Davis' birthday, June 3, 1907, a day celebrated in Virginia and many other Southern states as Confederate Memorial Day. It consisted of a bronze statue of Davis by Richmond sculptor Edward Valentine surrounded by a colonnade of 13 columns represented the Southern states, and a tall Doric column topped by a bronze statue, also by Valentine, representing Southern womanhood.
The Stonewall Jackson Monument in Richmond, Virginia, was erected in honor of Thomas Jonathon "Stonewall" Jackson, a Confederate general. The monument was located at the centre of the crossing of Monument Avenue and North Arthur Ashe Boulevard, in Richmond, Virginia. The bronze equestrian statue was unveiled in 1919. Along this avenue are other statues including Robert E. Lee, J. E. B. Stewart, Jefferson Davis, Matthew Maury and more recently Arthur Ashe. Thomas Jackson is best known as one of Robert E. Lee's most trusted commanders throughout the early period of the American Civil War between Southern Confederate states and Northern Union states. He rose to prominence after his vital role in the Confederate victory at the First Battle of Bull Run in July 1861, continuing to command troops until his untimely death on May 10, 1863, after falling fatally ill following the amputation of his wounded arm.
The statue of the Confederate States of America cavalry general Williams Carter Wickham by Edward Virginius Valentine was installed in Richmond, Virginia's Monroe Park in 1891, near Virginia Commonwealth University's main campus. It was toppled in June 2020 during the George Floyd protests.
A bronze statue of Christopher Columbus was installed on the grounds of the Minnesota State Capitol in Saint Paul, Minnesota in 1931. The 10-foot statue was created by Italian American Carlo Brioschi.
A 1959 statue of Christopher Columbus by Alfred Solani was installed on the Columbus State Community College's downtown campus in Columbus, Ohio, United States. The monument is one of three in Columbus commemorating the explorer. The statue was removed June 19, 2020.
The Richmond Police Memorial is a statue located in Richmond, Virginia's Byrd Park, sculpted by Maria Kirby-Smith. The statue depicts a police officer holding a young girl, and a nearby plaque lists the names of 39 Richmond police officers killed in the line of duty between 1863 and 2003.
A statue of Christopher Columbus is installed in Bridgeport, Connecticut's Seaside Park, in the United States.
The New London, Connecticut statue of Christopher Columbus was a marble statue installed in the city from 1928 to 2020. In June, 2020 the New London City council voted to remove the statue from public land.
A statue of Christopher Columbus by Mario Zamora was installed in Chula Vista, California's Discovery Park, in the United States. The statue has been vandalized multiple times. It was removed and placed into storage in June 2020.
The Middletown, Connecticut Christopher Columbus statue was a memorial to Columbus that was installed in the city's Harbor Park. The sculpture was donated to the city in 1996 by the Italian American Civic Order, the Italian Society of Middletown and local Italian-American families.
A statue of Christopher Columbus by the sculptor Giovanni Polizzi formerly stood in Columbus Park, in Buffalo, New York.
