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Statue of Christopher Columbus (Giacomantonio)

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There are three sculptures of Christopher Columbus in Hudson County, New Jersey created by Archimedes Giacomantonio. The tributes to Columbus become contentious around 2020 when there were calls for removal and subsequent rebuttals of their retention.[1] Archimedes Aristedes Michael Giacomantonio (1906 – 1988), also known as Jock Manton, a corruption of his surname.[2] was a native Jersey City

Columbus Park (1937)

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Columbus Park is a Hudson County park on Clinton Street in Hoboken. The statue created in 1937 is a bronze depicting Columbus with a sword hanging from his belt and a cross around his neck, on a granite pedestal.[3]

Reproductions of the work were installed in Columbus Park in Memphis, Tennessee[4][5] and Hazleton, Pennsylvania.[6]

Journal Square

Journal Square (1950)

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The Columbus statue at Journal Square (40°43′56″N 74°03′47″W / 40.732142°N 74.063114°W / 40.732142; -74.063114 (Statue of Christopher Columbus)) in Jersey City was dedicated on October 15, 1950. Originally situated in a traffic island across from Loew's Jersey Theatre in 1998 it was moved to a pedestrian plaza. The ten-foot bronze statue is mounted on a white marble shaft and depicts Columbus "in a militant pose, holding a cross in his left hand and pointing westward with his right."[7] Funding for the statue was through private subscription. While on county-owned land, it is not property of the county and is partially maintained by the local chapter of the Dante Alighieri Society.[8][9] A plaque was added to the pedestal when rededicated on October 12, 1992, in memory of Edward F. Zampella, the "Voice of the Columbus Day Parade."[10]

Lincoln the Rail Splitter, is a work created by Giacomoantonio when he was 19 years old. The graduating class of Lincoln High School purchased the work for the school in 1926. [11][12][13] The Police Monument was created in 1936.[14][15][16]

Ellsworth Park

Ellsworth Park (1979)

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Ellsworth Park is a city square between Palisade Avenue, New York Avenue and 23rd and 24th streets in Union City. Made in 1979, the bronze bust of Columbus is situated on a granite pedestal. It was cast at Roman Bronze Works.[17]

Another Giacomoantonio work in Union City is the Monument to Soldiers, Sailors and Marines. Known as the Spanish–American War Memorial it was dedicated in Veterans Memorial Plaza (formerly Triangle Park), at Palisades Avenue and 33rd Street on September 29, 1940, and is dedicated to the "memory of the soldiers, sailors and marines who fought in the war with Spain in 1898."

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Baer, Marilyn; Writer, Staff (July 2, 2020). "Countywide calls to remove Columbus tributes".
  2. ^ "Lincoln's image presides almost unnoticed in Sparta". amp.njherald.com. Retrieved 2021-12-25.
  3. ^ "Hoboken - Christopher Columbus". statues.vanderkrogt.net.
  4. ^ "Memphis - Christopher Columbus". statues.vanderkrogt.net.
  5. ^ "Statue - Christopher Columbus". www.waymarking.com.
  6. ^ "Hazleton - Christopher Columbus". statues.vanderkrogt.net.
  7. ^ "Christopher Columbus Statue". New Jersey City University.
  8. ^ "Columbus Statue Not Going Anywhere, Freeholder Speculates | Jersey City, NJ News TAPinto". tapinto.net. Retrieved 2021-12-18.
  9. ^ D’Auria, Peter (June 17, 2020). "Statues of Christopher Columbus have fallen across the country. Could Jersey City be next?". The Jersey Journal.
  10. ^ Brennan, John (December 18, 2007). "Jersey City, Journal Square, plaque on Columbus statue". Rutgers University. doi:10.7282/T3NC61PF – via rucore.libraries.rutgers.edu. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  11. ^ "Boy Sculptor, Once Praised by Caruso, Makes Statue of Lincoln and Sells It to School". February 7, 1926 – via NYTimes.com.
  12. ^ Gomez, John (December 18, 2014). Legendary Locals of Jersey City. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9781467100922 – via Google Books.
  13. ^ History, J. C. "Library Guides: Lincoln High School: Lincoln High School". njcu.libguides.com.
  14. ^ Times, Walter H. Waggoner Special to The New York (August 18, 1976). "Police Monument Rededicated" – via NYTimes.com.
  15. ^ Reporter, Hudson (March 10, 2008). "Hidden in plain sight Sometimes overlooked, downtown statues tell stories".
  16. ^ Pease, Arthur W. (January 11, 2019). Historical Highlights: Jersey City Police Department. Dorrance Publishing. ISBN 9781480959965 – via Google Books.
  17. ^ "Union City - Christopher Columbus". statues.vanderkrogt.net.
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