A statue of singer

Kate Smith Kathryn Elizabeth Smith (May 1, 1907 – June 17, 1986) was an American contralto. Referred to as The First Lady of Radio, Smith is well known for her renditions of Irving Berlin's "God Bless America" & "When The Moon Comes Over The Mountain". ...

(1907–1986) by Marc Mellon was installed outside

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Xfinity Live! Xfinity Live! Philadelphia (known as Philly Live! during planning and construction) is a dining and entertainment complex located at the corner of 11th and Pattison Avenue in the South Philadelphia Sports Complex on the former site of the Spectr ...

, 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 ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, until 2019. The

bronze sculpture Bronze is the most popular metal for Casting (metalworking), cast metal sculptures; a cast bronze sculpture is often called simply "a bronze". It can be used for statues, singly or in groups, reliefs, and small statuettes and figurines, as w ...

was commissioned by the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Wells ...

and unveiled on October 8, 1987. It was placed into storage in 2010 because of the demolition of the Spectrum arena. On April 21, 2019, the statue was removed due to the Flyers denouncing music performed by Smith. Some of her other recordings had racist lyrics and the Flyers did not want to promote Kate Smith's legacy due to this fact.

References

1987 establishments in Pennsylvania 1987 sculptures Bronze sculptures in Pennsylvania Monuments and memorials in Pennsylvania Outdoor sculptures in Philadelphia Relocated buildings and structures in Pennsylvania Removed statues Sculptures of women in Pennsylvania Statues in Pennsylvania Philadelphia Flyers Statues of musicians in the United States {{US-sculpture-stub

See also

References