Washington Monument (Milwaukee)

Public artwork by Richard Henry Park

Washington Monument


Artist	Richard Henry Park
Year	1885 (1885)
Type	bronze sculpture
Dimensions	280 cm × 100 cm × 100 cm (110 in × 41 in × 41 in)
Location	Wisconsin Ave. near 8th St. in front of MPL Central, Milwaukee
Coordinates	43°2′19.643″N 87°55′22.266″W / 43.03878972°N 87.92285167°W / 43.03878972; -87.92285167

The Washington Monument is a public artwork by American artist Richard Henry Park located on the Court of Honor [Wikidata] in front of the Milwaukee Public Library Central Library, which is near Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The bronze sculpture is a full-length portrait of a 43-year-old George Washington, and stands on a granite pedestal; a bronze woman points up at Washington while a child, also made out of bronze, gazes upward. It was sculpted by Richard Henry Park and was erected in 1885 with philanthropic financial support from Elizabeth Plankinton. The statue was restored between July 2016 and January 2018.

Description

The 10 foot and 6 inch high full-length sculpture depicts George Washington at the age of 43. "He wears a hat with flower, cape, boots, jacket, vest and pants. He holds a sword with both hands in front of him." There are two bronze figures at the foot of the base that were added at the suggestion of Miss Elizabeth Plankinton. One, a woman, points up to the statue with her proper left arm, while the second figure, a child, gazes upward while holding an open book at his side. The inscription on the lower left side of the sculpture reads "RH PARK SC". The inscription on the proper right lower side of the sculpture reads "F. GALLI FUSERO". The front of the base reads "WASHINGTON". The back of the base reads "The Gift of / Elizabeth A. Plankinton / To the City of Milwaukee / 1885".

Background

Richard Henry Park's George Washington, dedicated on November 7, 1885, was the first public monument in Milwaukee. It was given to the city as a gift by Elizabeth Plankinton, popularly known as Miss Lizzie, as a gesture of her love for Milwaukee. "It would also ensure, as one of the speakers noted at the dedication of the statue, that 'during the coming generations when other men shall walk these streets, this monument will stand a text for the old and a lesson for the young.' Because this was to be the city's first public statue, it seemed fitting that the nation's first president, George Washington, be its subject." The 43-year-old Washington is depicted wearing an exact copy of the Commander-in-Chief uniform of the Continental Army.

The sculpture cost about $20,000. Thousands of people attended its unveiling, although Miss Lizzie did not. it was placed on the boulevard on W. Wisconsin Avenue, one of the city's earliest parks. This location later became known as the Court of Honor because of the crowning of Rex, King of the Milwaukee Midsummer Carnival Festival, which took place in the same area. Every year on Washington's birthday the Military Order of the Purple Heart places a wreath on the monument to honor its founder.

Short video of Washington Monument in Milwaukee.

Artist

Main article: Richard Henry Park

Artist Richard Henry Park was born on a farm in Connecticut in 1832. Park was inspired to become a sculptor after attending a Hiram Powers exhibition. He worked as a marble cutter's apprentice, producing marble copies of Erastus Dow Palmer's work. The sculptor moved to Florence in 1871 where he met Thomas Hardy, yet he remained a very popular artist with Milwaukee's elite. He became acquainted with Elizabeth Plankinton while making a sculpture of her father and they became engaged, but he ended up marrying a different woman. Park is also known for sculpting a silver statue of Justice for Montana's exhibit at the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893 in Chicago.

Restoration

2012

2019Before and after the 2016-2017 restoration

A 1994 survey reported in the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database indicated that the sculpture was deteriorating and that treatment was needed. Problems include that Washington's uniform is covered in dirt and corrosion and that part of the head of the bronze figure of a woman at Washington's feet is missing. Similar observations were included in a detailed report about the condition of the monument and works needed produced for the Westown Association in 2014. There had been no restoration work done since it was installed as Milwaukee's first piece of public art.

In July 2016, the statue was moved to the Conservation of Sculpture and Objects Studio in Forest Park, Illinois where Andrzej Dajnowski supervised its restoration. A great deal of fundraising has been done to support the work, which was expected to cost about $100,000, of which the Westown Association provided $60,000. The process of moving the statue revealed several additional challenges, including the rust in base that he described as "a big issue because inserted a 1 inch rod in both of his legs and that's why one of the legs is already splitting," and the possibility that Washington's sword is not the original but has been replaced at some point in the past.

The restored statue, now a dark bronze color instead of the previous green, was returned to its pedestal at North 9th St. and West Wisconsin Avenue in January 2018. As the 3,000 pounds (1,400 kg), 10-foot tall statue was hoisted into place by a crane, Mayor Tom Barrett observed that "our first piece of public art is in pristine condition."

References

^ George Washington, (sculpture), SIRIS.
^ Buck, Diane M. and Virginia A. Palmer (1995). Outdoor Sculpture in Milwaukee: A Cultural and Historical Guidebook, p. 53. The State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Madison
^ Schumacher, Mary Louise (July 8, 2016). "George Washington statue will cross the border Monday for restoration". The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
^ Bence, Susan (July 18, 2016). "Milwaukee's Oldest Monument Leaves City for Repair". WUWM Milwaukee Public Radio. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
^ Nelson, James B. (January 11, 2018). "Restored George Washington statue, Milwaukee's oldest monument, returns to Wisconsin Ave". The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
^ Peterson, Evan (January 11, 2018). "Bringing George Washington back to life: Milwaukee's 1st public monument gets much-needed repair". FOX6 News. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
Wilson, Keith (2009). A companion to Thomas Hardy. John Wiley & Sons. p. 218. ISBN 9781405156684.
Conservation of Sculpture & Objects Studio, Inc. (2014). "Condition Report and Treatment Proposal – George Washington Monument (City of Milwaukee)" (PDF). Westown Association, Milwaukee. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 21, 2022. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
Zervakis, Pete (January 11, 2018). "Newly-restored George Washington monument back on display in downtown Milwaukee". WTMJ-TV Milwaukee. Retrieved July 24, 2019.

"The Monuments of Milwaukee" (PDF). Monumental News. 7 (1): 23. January 1895.
"Milwaukee". National Magazine. 17 (6): 773–774. March 1903.

External links

Washington Monument, Greetings from Milwaukee, UWM Archives

v t e Public art in Milwaukee
Downtown	The Victorious Charge Family The Calling Wisconsin Workers Memorial Wind Leaves Birds of Knowledge of Good and Evil The Great Double Woodland Indian and Whistling Swans Solomon Juneau Leif, the Discoverer Letter Carriers' Monument Argo Bronze Fonz Walkways Through the Wall Abraham Lincoln George Washington Referee Immigrant Mother King Gambrinus RiverSculpture! Gertie the Duck General Douglas MacArthur The Spirit of Polonia World War I Memorial Flagpole Pedestrian Drama Midsummer Carnival Shaft Acqua Grylli Laureate Diana Trigon Pere Jacques Marquette Spanish–American War Soldier Ruins X Ex Stasis City Yard Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Peter John A Beam of Sun to Shake the Sky Rainbow Machine Topiary Lucere Dancing Through Life Mother Teresa Monument Jacques Marquette You Rise Above the World The Last Alarm John Plankinton
North Side	Celebrating the Arts Christian Wahl Elk On Watch Pattern Lapham Memorial Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Music Fishing Spirit of the Firefighter Dauntless Guardian Buildings 1992 Gear 23 All in the Air at Once First Flight Sea of the Ear Kindred Ties
East Side	Cleopatra's Wedge Float Polyphony Boy with Goose Eight Stone Lions Three Bronze Discs Holocaust Memorial Happy-Go-Luckies of Nature and Technology Blue Dress Park Sentinels Hermes Milwaukee Eclipse 'X' Intertwining Compass Erastus B. Wolcott Sharing the Load Robert Burns Near Here Compass Walk Like a River Spillover II Tip Jantar-Mantar Cass Street Park Brady Street Beasts Connect Fairies Candles
South Side	Menomonee Count Casimir Pulaski Spirit of Commerce Bay View Series A Place to Sit Stratiformis The Hill Climber Deflected Jets Angel in a Cage R. D. Whitehead Monument Memorial for Belle Austin Jacobs T. A. Chapman Memorial Nature Belle Oops, Missed Space Game Engine Company No. 10 William A. Starke Memorial Steel Reborn Red Flower Rising Equestrian statue of Tadeusz Kościuszko Patrick Cudahy Memorial SOARING Two Opposites Reaching Up Toward the Peak of Progress Edge Elements Ribbons VI Bridge Stone Bracelet Untitled Quartet Tending the Fire Bird and Fish The Sower The Reaper Giving Gifts Watertower
West Side	Henry Bergh Goethe–Schiller Monument Chrysalis The Ideal Scout Uptown Triangles Tree of Life Magic Grove Steuben Monument Kneeling Camels Teamwork Aaron Monument Yount Monument Selig Monument Uecker Monument Fire and Water Vliet Street Commons Miller Valley Veterans Monument Children of the West End
Lynden Sculpture Garden	Sinai Wandering Rocks Sea Form (Atlantic) Sky Fence Floating Sculpture No. 3 Mo, Ni, Que Trio Two-Piece Reclining Figure No. 9 Way Four Compound Junior Salem No. 7 Bremen Town Musicians Ancestor Queen of Sheba Rhythm in Space Peristyle, Three Lines Orizzontale Embrace Ursa Major Three Graces Large Torso, Arch Double Up Upstart The Lovers (di Suvero) Poland Axeltree Orbits Ritual II Hara Olympus The Lovers (Daen) Tensione No. 2 The Source Rainbow Unfolding Vegetative Sculpture I Round About Lodgepole Twist for Max Bench-Stone Windfall Knife Tree Conversations with Magic Stones, Figure Three Conversations with Magic Stones (Magic Stone Three) Kumo Untitled Arch Epicenter Epicenter II III Columns Flight Pin Oak I
Mobile projects	Overpass Light Brigade

v t e George Washington
1st President of the United States (1789–1797) Senior Officer of the Army (1798–1799) Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army (1775–1783) Delegate to the Second Continental Congress (1775) Delegate to the First Continental Congress (1774)
Military career Revolutionary War	Military career French and Indian War Jumonville Glen Battle of Fort Necessity Battle of the Monongahela Forbes Expedition Washington in the American Revolution Commander-in-chief, Continental Army Aides-de-camp Washington's headquarters office and sleeping tent Boston campaign Siege of Boston New York and New Jersey campaign Delaware River crossing Battle of Trenton Battle of the Assunpink Creek Battle of Princeton Philadelphia campaign Battle of Brandywine Battle of Germantown Battle of White Marsh Valley Forge Battle of Monmouth Battles of Saratoga Sullivan Expedition Yorktown campaign Siege of Yorktown Culper Spy Ring Newburgh Conspiracy Newburgh letter Asgill Affair Evacuation Day Resignation as commander-in-chief Badge of Military Merit Purple Heart Washington Before Boston Medal Horses Nelson Blueskin
Other U.S. founding events	Initiated, co-wrote, 1769 Virginia Association Initiated, 1774 Fairfax Resolves Continental Association Court of Appeals in Cases of Capture 1785 Mount Vernon Conference Chairman, 1787 Constitutional Convention George Washington's political evolution
Presidency (timeline)	1788–89 United States presidential election First inauguration inaugural bible 1792 presidential election Second inauguration Reception at Trenton Title of "Mr. President" Cabinet of the United States Secretary of State Attorney General Secretary of the Treasury Secretary of War Judiciary Act of 1789 Oath Administration Act Nonintercourse Act Whiskey Rebellion Militia Acts of 1792 Coinage Act of 1792 United States Mint Presidential Succession Act of 1792 United States Capitol cornerstone laying Proclamation of Neutrality Neutrality Act of 1794 Jay Treaty Pinckney's Treaty Slave Trade Act of 1794 Residence Act Thanksgiving Proclamation Farewell Address State of the Union Address 1790 1791 1792 1793 1796 Cabinet Federal judicial appointments John Rutledge Supreme Court nominations
Views and public image	Presidential library The Washington Papers Religious views Town Destroyer Legacy
Life and homes	Early life Birthplace Ferry Farm boyhood home Mount Vernon Fishery Gristmill Whiskey distillery Woodlawn Plantation Longfellow House–Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site Ford Mansion, Washington's headquarters Hasbrouck House First Presidential Mansion Second Presidential Mansion President's House, Philadelphia Germantown White House Custis estate Washington's relations with the Iroquois Confederacy Potomac Company James River and Kanawha Canal Mountain Road Lottery Congressional Gold Medal Thanks of Congress President General of the Society of the Cincinnati Washington College Washington and Lee University Electoral history of George Washington Post-presidency of George Washington
Memorials and depictions	Washington, D.C. Washington state Washington Monument Mount Rushmore Washington's Birthday Purple Heart The Apotheosis of Washington Washington Monument (Boonsboro, Maryland) Washington Monument (Baltimore) George Washington (Houdon) plaster copy George Washington (Ceracchi) George Washington (Canova) George Washington (Greenough) George Washington (Trumbull) George Washington and the Revolutionary War Door Revolutionary War Door Washington Crossing the Delaware The Passage of the Delaware General George Washington at Trenton Washington at Verplanck's Point General George Washington Resigning His Commission Surrender of Lord Cornwallis Unfinished portrait Lansdowne portrait The Washington Family portrait Washington at Princeton paintings George Washington Taking the Salute at Trenton Reception at Trenton painting Statues Trenton Battle Monument Princeton Battle Monument Point of View sculpture George Washington on Horseback Austin statue Baltimore statue Boston statue Mexico City statue Morristown statue Newark statue New York City statue Wall Street statue Paris statue Perth Amboy statue Philadelphia statue Portland statue Washington, D.C. statue West Point monument George Washington University Washington University in St. Louis Washington Masonic National Memorial George Washington Memorial Parkway George Washington Bridge Washington and Jefferson National Forests Washington Square Park Arch U.S. Postage stamps Washington–Franklin Issues 1932 bicentennial Currency Washington quarter 50 State Quarters D.C. and territories quarters America the Beautiful quarters American Women quarters History Instructing Youth dollar Washington dollar Lafayette dollar Silver bullion coins Washington nickel Washington half eagle 250th Anniversary half dollar Mount Rushmore Anniversary coins Mount Washington Cultural depictions George Washington (1984 miniseries 1986 sequel) A More Perfect Union (1989 film) The Crossing (2000 film) We Fight to Be Free (2006 film) Turn: Washington's Spies (2014–2017 series) The War that Made America (2006 miniseries) Washington (2020 miniseries) Hamilton (film)
Related	Bibliography List of articles Founders Online Founding Fathers of the United States Republicanism Federalist Party Federalist Era Virginia dynasty Coat of arms Cherry-tree anecdote River Farm Washington's Crossing Washington–Rochambeau Revolutionary Route 1751 Barbados trip Category Syng inkstand General of the Armies Conway Cabal American Foxhound American Philosophical Society American Revolution patriots Betsy Ross flag Mount Vernon Ladies' Association Mount Vernon replicas George Washington Memorial Building Attempted theft of Washington's skull
Family	Martha Washington (wife) John Parke Custis (stepson) George Washington Parke Custis (step-grandson, adopted son) Eleanor Parke Custis (step-granddaughter, adopted daughter) Augustine Washington (father) Mary Ball Washington (mother) Lawrence Washington (half-brother) Augustine Washington Jr. (half-brother) Elizabeth Washington Lewis (sister) Samuel Washington (brother) John A. Washington (brother) Charles Washington (brother) Lawrence Washington (grandfather) Mildred Gale (grandmother) John Washington (great-grandfather) George Reade (2nd great-grandfather) Bushrod Washington (nephew)
Slavery	Washington and slavery List of enslaved people of Mount Vernon Betty Caroline Branham William Costin West Ford Sarah Johnson Oney Judge Philip Lee William Lee Hercules Posey Christopher Sheels Deborah Squash Harry Washington
John Adams → Category Outline

Categories:

Misplaced Pages