Providence quietly preparing Columbus for its next voyage – to just the right bidder

Photo: Columbus statue in storage somewhere in Providence, as posted on WPRO website

“Riches don’t make a man rich, they only make him busier.” – Christopher Columbus

The fate of the Christopher Columbus statue rises to the surface every year in October, then fades away yet again, ever since June of 2020 when the statue that had resided came under attack by activists who threw red paint on it and threatened to separate the statue’s head from its body.

A committee in Providence has had authority over the fate of the Christopher Columbus statue for the past 2 years, finally approving a sale be advertised after 1 or 2 private sale offers fell through for one reason or another. There was also a rejection by RISD. Another private proposal to move the statue to a Narragansett home owner was rejected because it failed to address providing for its security.

City of Providence Special Committee for the Review of Commemorative Works

The Special Committee for the Review of Commemorative Works is a public body staffed by the Department of Art, Culture + Tourism (ACT). Per the recommendation of the Art in City Life Master Plan and City Council, the Committee shall be comprised of individuals who are scholars in the fields of History or commemoration or have a background in local History, culture, or community building. Two of these individuals, the Director of ACT and the City Archivist, will be non-voting Ex-Officio members. The Art and City Life Commission, the Providence City Council, the City Archivist, the Director of ACT, and the Mayor will appoint voting members that will serve for a three-year term.

Current Appointees

• Art and City Life Commission – Becci Davis (artist, public humanist)
• Providence City Council – April Brown (arts administrator, Langston Hughes Community Poetry Reading)
• ACT Appointee – Dr. Erik Christiansen (public historian, Rhode Island College)
• City Archives appointee – Ray Rickman (executive director, Stages of Freedom)
• Mayor Elorza – Marco McWilliams (public historian, Ph.D. student in Africana Studies)
• ACT – Stephanie Fortunato (Director, ACT) non-voting exofficio
• City Archives – Caleb Horton (City Archivist) non-voting exofficio

New Mayor in town

Note: Marco McWilliams is the appointee of Mayor Elorza on the Commission – it is unclear if he will be immediately replaced by incoming Mayor Brett Smiley. Smiley’s office has not responded to our request for a statement about the fate of the Columbus statue.

Opposition

Italian-American groups have expressed opposition to the statue’s removal, sale, etc. Various proposals were presented to move him to, most notably, a Federal Hill location in Providence, have been brought before the commission, with no resolve.

Out to Bid – again

The statue is now advertised – for the second time – as a “re-bid” on BidNet. The proposal was placed on line two weeks ago with final bids due on January 30th 2023 – an RFP for the Temporary or Permanent Acquisition of the Christopher Columbus Statue formerly located in Columbus Square in Providence.

The statue won’t be sold to the highest bidder, but to the bidder who can meet “special conditions” as the city not only seeks to remove him from their purview, but protects what his fate might be at the same time.

Bid specs are here:

The proposal requires the statue to be preserved – it cannot be melted down, and its security must be addressed.

Proceeds of the sale of the Columbus statue will be “reinvested in Columbus Square or other parks located in the Elmwood neighborhood.

The full RFP is located here:

https://www.providenceri.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/PVD22-297-Parks-RFP-re-bid-columbus-statue-2022.pdf

The statue is a bronze cast of a sterling silver statue which was created by Rhode Island’s Gorham Manufacturing Company for the 1892 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The original silver statue was not meant for permanent exhibition, but rather as a demonstration of the skills of the Gorham Company, and was later melted down. The bronze cast was dedicated November 8, 1893 as a gift from the Elmwood Association to the City of Providence. The statue was created in 1893 by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi . The statue was sometimes a focal point for Columbus Day ceremonies and speeches, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.

The small triangle of land in the Elmwood section of Providence has been cleaned up and the pedestal where Columbus was located has not been removed, but looks prepared for its new topping.

It was removed from Columbus Square in 2020 by order of Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza after being vandalized in 2010, 2015 and 2017, and in the wake of the George Floyd protests.

The bronze cast depicts a 6.6 feet (2.0 m) high by 4.5 feet (1.4 m) wide and deep, “larger-than-life size” standing figure of Christopher Columbus atop a 5.25 feet (1.60 m) by 5.33 feet (1.62 m) plain square base of grey Westerly, Rhode Island granite. The National Historic Register of Places nomination describes the statue: “The explorer is caught in mid-stride, his left foot stepping off the base. In his left hand he holds a globe; his right arm is raised, his index finger pointing, as if giving an order or sighting land.

Though it is a bronze cast copy of the original silver work, the sculpture itself was declared a masterpiece because “life and vigor are implied in every line and feature, and the general effect is one of great beauty.” In relation to the original silver cast, James Wilson Pierce declared it as an exemplary work of art that surpasses all other Christopher Columbus sculptures in the United States.

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Bloomberg News estimates that there are over 6,000 locations in the US that are named after Columbus, with nearly 40 statues having been removed. They note that “the world’s first monument to Columbus was built not in Italy or Spain but in Baltimore — a 44-foot obelisk erected in 1792 that now stands, mostly ignored, at an intersection near Herring Run Park”.

In 2019, a Rasmussen poll found that 56% of U.S. adults said that Columbus should continue to be honored with a holiday, with only 26% opposed, yet 69% of college students reject Columbus Day.

Efforts to rename the holiday Indigenous People’s Day was successful in being named a holiday by President Biden for October 9th, but Columbus Day was not removed. In 2022 events to celebrate Columbus Day were focused more on the recognition of the contributions of Italian Americans to America – and to Rhode Island – and few if any demonstrations took place around celebrations, including the 3-day Columbus Day Festival on iconic Federal Hill.

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