Columbus Memorial, Chicago 1933 Worlds Fair~ (NBY 416404)

''Christopher Columbus'' is a bronze statue by sculptor Carlo Brioschi. The statue of

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus * lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo * es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón * pt, Cristóvão Colombo * ca, Cristòfor (or ) * la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...

was installed in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

's Grant Park, in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. Created by the

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

ese-born sculptor and installed in 1933, it was set on an

exedra An exedra (plural: exedras or exedrae) is a semicircular architectural recess or platform, sometimes crowned by a semi-dome, and either set into a building's façade or free-standing. The original Greek sense (''ἐξέδρα'', a seat out of d ...

and

pedestal A pedestal (from French ''piédestal'', Italian ''piedistallo'' 'foot of a stall') or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In ci ...

designed with the help of architect Clarence H. Johnston. It was removed and put in storage in 2020. In 1933, Chicago celebrated its 100th anniversary with the

Century of Progress A Century of Progress International Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States, from 1933 to 1934. The fair, registered under the Bureau International des Expositi ...

World's Fair. In conjunction with the fair, Chicago's

Italian-American Italian Americans ( it, italoamericani or ''italo-americani'', ) are Americans who have full or partial Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeast and industrial Midwestern metropolitan areas, w ...

community raised funds and donated the statue of the Genoese navigator and explorer Christopher Columbus. It was placed at the south end of Grant Park, near the site of the fair, and located east of S. Columbus Drive and north of E. Roosevelt Road. The bronze, beaux arts statue shows Columbus standing and gesturing into the distance with one hand. In his other hand, he holds a scrolled map at his side. On the sides of the statue's

art deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

pedestal are carved depictions of: one of Columbus' ships, the '' Santa Maria''; astronomer and mathematician,

Paolo Toscanelli Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli (1397 – 10 May 1482) was an Italian mathematician, astronomer,, pp. 333–335 and cosmographer. Life Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli was born in Florence, the son of the physician Domenico Toscanelli. There is no ...

, who plotted the course to the "New World;" the explorer, Amerigo Vespucci; and the seal of the City of Genoa. In the four corners of the pedestal are busts allegorically representing, Faith, Courage, Freedom, and Strength. Despite appearances, Brioschi's son has denied that the figure holding a

fasces Fasces ( ; ; a ''plurale tantum'', from the Latin word ''fascis'', meaning "bundle"; it, fascio littorio) is a bound bundle of wooden rods, sometimes including an axe (occasionally two axes) with its blade emerging. The fasces is an Italian symbo ...

representing ''Strength'' was a portrait of

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

.Riedy, James L., ''Chicago Sculpture'', University of Illinois Press, Urbana, Illinois, 1981 p. 204. The statue was vandalized on June 13, 2020 in the ongoing

George Floyd protests The George Floyd protests were a series of protests and civil unrest against police brutality and racism that began in Minneapolis on May 26, 2020, and largely took place during 2020. The civil unrest and protests began as part of internati ...

. After an incident on July 17, 2020, where a number of injuries occurred during a confrontation with police and an attempt to topple the controversial work, the statue was removed by July 24 order of Chicago's Mayor

Lori Lightfoot Lori Elaine Lightfoot (born August 4, 1962) is an American attorney and politician serving since 2019 as the 56th mayor of Chicago. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Before becoming mayor, Lightfoot worked in private legal practice as ...

References

1933 establishments in Illinois 1933 sculptures Bronze sculptures in Illinois Italian-American culture in Chicago Outdoor sculptures in Chicago Sculptures of men in Illinois Statues in Chicago Maps in art Ships in art

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Vandalized works of art in Illinois Statues removed in 2020 {{Authority control

See also

References