bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

statue of

Balto Balto (1919 – March 14, 1933) was a Siberian Husky and sled dog belonging to musher and breeder Leonhard Seppala. He achieved fame when he reportedly led a team of sled dogs driven by Gunnar Kaasen on the final leg of the 1925 serum run to Nom ...

by Frederick Roth is installed in

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, New York. Balto (1919 – March 14, 1933) was a Siberian Husky and sled dog belonging to

musher Mushing is a sport or transport method powered by dogs. It includes carting, pulka, dog scootering, sled dog racing, skijoring, freighting, and weight pulling. More specifically, it implies the use of one or more dogs to pull a sled, most commonl ...

and breeder

Leonhard Seppala Leonhard "Sepp" Seppala (; September 14, 1877 – January 28, 1967) was a Norwegian-American sled dog breeder, trainer and musher who with his dogs played a pivotal role in the 1925 serum run to Nome, and participated in the 1932 Winter Olympi ...

. He achieved fame when he reportedly led a team of sled dogs on the final leg of the

1925 serum run to Nome The 1925 serum run to Nome, also known as the Great Race of Mercy and The Serum Run, was a transport of diphtheria antitoxin by dog sled relay across the U.S. territory of Alaska by 20 mushers and about 150 sled dogs across in days, saving th ...

, in which

diphtheria Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Corynebacterium diphtheriae''. Most infections are asymptomatic or have a mild clinical course, but in some outbreaks more than 10% of those diagnosed with the disease may die. Signs and s ...

antitoxin An antitoxin is an antibody with the ability to neutralize a specific toxin. Antitoxins are produced by certain animals, plants, and bacterium, bacteria in response to toxin exposure. Although they are most effective in neutralizing toxins, the ...

was transported from

Anchorage, Alaska Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring Ma ...

, to

Nenana, Alaska Nenana ( taa, Toghotili; is a home rule city in the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area of the Unorganized Borough in the Interior of the U.S. state of Alaska. Nenana developed as a Lower Tanana community at the confluence where the tributary Nenana Rive ...

, by train and then to Nome by

dog sled A dog sled or dog sleigh is a sled pulled by one or more sled dogs used to travel over ice and through snow. Numerous types of sleds are used, depending on their function. They can be used for dog sled racing. Traditionally in Greenland and the e ...

to combat an outbreak of the disease.

Description and history

Located north of the

Central Park Zoo The Central Park Zoo is a zoo located at the southeast corner of Central Park in New York City. It is part of an integrated system of four zoos and one aquarium managed by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). In conjunction with the Central ...

near the intersection of East Drive and 67th Street, the sculpture was dedicated on December 17, 1925. Roth modeled the sculpture of Balto on a New Hampshire malamute named Chinook. A bas-relief rendering of the pivotal journey is carved into the pedestal. Balto himself was reportedly present at the ceremony. The statue is a popular attraction: children frequently climb the statue to pretend to ride on the dog. There is a plaque at the base of the statue, which reads:

"Dedicated to the indomitable spirit of the sled dogs that relayed antitoxin six hundred miles over rough ice, across treacherous waters, through Arctic blizzards from Nenana to the relief of stricken Nome in the Winter of 1925. Endurance · Fidelity · Intelligence".

Legacy

The statue was used at the ending scene of the

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

animated film ''Balto''.

References

External links

* 1925 establishments in New York City 1925 sculptures Bronze sculptures in Central Park Monuments and memorials in Manhattan Outdoor sculptures in Manhattan Dog monuments Sculptures of dogs in the United States Statues in New York City {{NewYork-sculpture-stub

Description and history

Legacy

See also

References

External links