The Columbus Obelisk is one of three monuments to

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus * lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo * es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón * pt, Cristóvão Colombo * ca, Cristòfor (or ) * la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. Erected on 12 October 1792, the obelisk is the oldest monument to Christopher Columbus in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. On the monument the inscription read “Sacred to the Memory of Chris. Columbus / Octob. XII MDCCVIIIC.” until the plaque with this message was destroyed in 2017.

History

The Columbus Obelisk was donated by the French Consul to the City of Baltimore, Charles François Adrian de Paulmier, Chevalier d'Anmour, in 1792 to commemorate the tricentennial anniversary of Columbus's discovery of America. The monument was originally located on d'Anmour's estate on North Avenue and Harford Road. On October 12, 1964, it was rededicated and moved to its present location in

Herring Run Park The Herring Run is an U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the Back River located in Baltimore, Maryland. Geography The watershed has its head ...

at Harford Road, Walther Avenue, and Parkside Drive.

Vandalism

In August 2017 the monument was vandalized by a group of individuals inspired by efforts to remove Confederate monuments; they posted a video of themselves performing the act on YouTube. In the video, one person sledgehammers the base of the structure, while another holds a sign reading "Racism. Tear it Down". In October 2017, Mayor Catherine Pugh authorized the city's Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation to restore and relocate the monument, and expressed interest in the possibility of rededicating the monument to someone else other than Columbus, due to the controversy surrounding the structure. In June 2020, the group known as the Baltimore BLOC threatened to destroy the monument by offering Mayor Jack Young a dilemma of either removing all Columbus memorials or face vandalism as a consequence.

Proposed renaming

In 2020, Councilman Ryan Dorsey introduced legislation to rename and rededicate the monument as "The Police Violence Victims Monument." On November 16, 2020, Baltimore Mayor Jack Young vetoed the legislation, citing concerns by

Baltimore Police Department The Baltimore Police Department (BPD) is the municipal police department of the city of Baltimore, Maryland. Dating back to 1784, the BPD, consisting of 2,935 employees in 2020, is organized into nine districts covering of land and of waterway ...

Commissioner Michael S. Harrison. The City Council, with a vote of 9 to 6, failed to override the mayor's veto on December 8, 2020.

References

Buildings and structures completed in 1792 Buildings and structures in Baltimore Outdoor sculptures in Maryland Relocated buildings and structures in Maryland Statues in Maryland Monuments and memorials to Christopher Columbus Obelisks Vandalized works of art in Maryland {{US-sculpture-stub

History

Vandalism

Proposed renaming

See also

References