March 18, 2008
Revisiting the Christopher Columbus Memorial Fountain
The Christopher Columbus memorial fountain at Columbus Circle in front of Union Station is, like so many of the monuments in D.C., under appreciated. When we asked a man leaning against the marble what he thought about it, if he liked it, all he did was shrug his shoulders and say, “Eh.”
Compare that to the day it was unveiled.
It was June 8, 1912, a day the New York Times called “second only to the inauguration of a President” because of the parade that included 15,000 troops, 2,000 motor cars, 50,000 Knights of Columbus, around 150,000 spectators, a 21 gun salute, and elaborate horse-drawn floats depicting noteworthy incidents in Columbus’ life.
But since that day, it seems, the Columbus fountain has receded into the background as, sadly, just another monument.
At the unveiling ceremony, President Taft said, “It is most difficult for us by any effort of the imagination to take in the problem which Columbus solved.” Yet today Columbus is hardly thought of as a national hero to anyone beyond the third grade. Is the Columbus fountain’s fall from grace related to our knowledge that the explorer was not the first to actually "discover" our continent? Maybe the Columbus statue has simply been gradually overlooked as D.C. has continued to add more and more monuments.
Photo by dcmemorials.com
Do you think D.C. is oversaturated with monuments? You can be sure that we at the revisiting series don’t think so, but the man leaning against the fountain, a New Yorker, seemed to hint at it with his shoulder shrugs.
“There’s so many statues and stuff,” he said. “I take it for granted.”
A group of middle school girls were equally tepid. “I like the Jefferson one better,” one finally said.
But the symbolism of the fountain deserves some credit and real attention. Sculptor Lorado Taft has Columbus standing, arms crossed, calmly facing the Capitol. He is flanked by an American Indian, with a pack of arrows, representing the “New World” facing West and a bearded elderly man representing the “Old World” facing East. In front of Columbus is the gracious Discovery herself, leading the way, and above Columbus is a globe of the world cornered by American Eagles.
To complete the scene, the rear of the monument features a medallion in honor of Spanish financiers King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella and three flagpoles representing the three ships of Columbus’ envoy. Along with the inscription reading: “To the memory of Christopher Columbus, whose high faith and indomitable courage gave to mankind a new world.”
As you emerge from Union Station, the first thing you see is the rear of the Columbus fountain. Its marbled plaza is an alluring first sight, fitting as it is with the classicism of Union Station itself, and it’s open enough to provide a breath of fresh air and space after a cramped train ride.
So, in the end, the Columbus fountain remains a compelling work, and another one of the many memorials in D.C. that carries its own unique story, that all together celebrate the rich history of our country.
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Wow, I've been peeing in that fountain since the late 90's (whilst stumbling home from the Irish Times, natch) and never realized that it was a monument to Christopher Columbus. If I had known, I probably would have dropped a deuce there too.
My favorite feature of the memorial is the homeless woman with the intricately made-up face who usually hangs out there.
i like the flagpoles that look like they're about to rust through in that photo. hopefully when the city redoes the traffic pattern in that circle (which can't come soon enough) they'll do a little basic maintenance on the parts of the statuary that need it.
hopefully when the city redoes the traffic pattern in that circle (which can't come soon enough)
Seconded! Columbus Circle is the bane of my existence when it comes to driving around here.
Between the rusting flagpoles, neglected monument, Lego-style jersey barriers, and plywood wall, the front of Union Station is a disgrace. The whole plaza there needs to be redone, streets and sidewalk repaved, and get rid of the %$@*! jersey barriers.
One of the reasons this monument is little considered or remembered is that the front of Union Station is one of the most pedestrian-unfriendly areas in the whole city.
Any links to what they're planning to do with the traffic pattern there? If anything, well marked lane dividers on Mass/Columbus Circle would be super.
i've searched and searched for information on what the circle would look like if reconfigured. all i can find is this WTOP article that says it was going to start last fall.
so i don't have a lot of hope that anything will happen before 2010...
I wouldn't complain too much, if I was you. If the GOP gets wind of all this Columbus hate, they'll try and replace it with a Reagan memorial.
I'm thinking something from the Girls on Probation era.
Pedestrian-hostile is more like it.
Someone brilliantly placed jersey barriers right in the middle of the crosswalk by the cab line on the ramp by the Thurgood Marshall building. The daily scrum of commuters has to fight not to be trampled as they go through the 3-foot openings in the barrier.
The switch from the old management company to whomever is running it now is a disgrace. Lights burned out all along the colonnade. A significant influx in peddlers and bums. The plywood-and-scaffold monstrosity that seems to have become a permanent fixture. And now they're talking about replacing all the retail inside the station with a couple of big box stores once the leases run out.
My favorite feature there is the worst taxi stand in the history of taxi stands. One sad cab at a time limps through, to pick up one person at a time.
Quite possibly the worst way to welcome people to DC - making them stand in a really long line obviously resulting from piss-poor design.
They make a half-ass attempt to sortof stagger cabs so sortof two come up at once, but they even manage to screw that up, slowing things down even more.
I keep hearing rumors of a massive redo of Union Station. Supposedly the entire food court area is being redone, to include actual decent restaurants. And the theaters are closing. No word on if they are being replaced.
Anybody have any info?
Totally agree about the deplorable condition the front of Union Station and the Columbus monument and the pedestrian crosswalks from hell. Gazillions of tourists and visitors utilize Union Station. You would think the DC gov't and the Feds would make it all nice and purdy like for their visual enjoyment and safety. The approach to the Senate office buildings is another mess with those ugly car barriers and gates.
And don't even get me started on the monstrosity that is the State Department's fetish with jersey barriers.
I had heard the theaters are closing and are not being replaced. Can't say I am shocked. Those theaters were awful.
Yeah, as one who walks through Columbus Circle at least once per week, it manages to be both confusing for pedestrians (where *are* the crosswalks?) and hostile to traffic. Real winning combination there.
The approach and entrance to Union Station could actually be quite beautiful. I think one of the keys would be downsizing the monument's "plaza" (mostly a hangout for scraggly homeless and seagulls (?!)) and finding a way to calm the traffic that goes through there. There's probably not enough money for it, but I've wondered why Mass Ave doesn't simply go under the circle, much like Conn Ave under Dupont?
I am NOT scraggly! I have a condition called "scrofula" and it's nothing to be ashamed of. All I need is for the King of France to touch me and I'm set.
Any monarch can cure you of that, Monkey, go to London. Unless the EU has created another monopoly to favor the French. That would figure.
There's probably not enough money for it, but I've wondered why Mass Ave doesn't simply go under the circle, much like Conn Ave under Dupont?
This is pure speculation unencumbered by either education or expertise in the area, but my guess is that it has something to do with the redline Metro tunnel.
I'm so used to how Union Station looks now that I have forgotten that pre-9/11 (minus scaffolding and Jersey barriers) it was still actually kind of pretty.
The thing that pisses me off about the Jersey barriers and other security-inspired ugliness is that Union Station is still totally vulnerable (in fact, most places in DC are) to an OKC-style truck bomb attack. That's Terrorism 101 and it can't really be stopped unless you're willing to more or less not have motorized traffic in an area. I'll never understand why we make things ugly and inconvenient in the name of "safety" if things aren't really any safer.
Yes, Hillrat - if you think about how many jersey barriers and concrete planters are junking up this town, you start to realize that if they were all removed and transported down to New Orleans, they could build a proper Category 5 levee and our city would be only slightly less safe. The resources and materials could be far more efficiently employed.
The barriers don't bother me when they look like they are trying to fit in, but the situation around Union Station is terrible. It is an incredibly beautiful building and is dramatically misused. Its not a very good train station, and its not a very good monument. Also something needs to be done about the flock of homeless around it, they are aggressive and I see them peeing in front of everyone all the time.
I see them peeing in front of everyone all the time.
Amazingly, I've never seen anyone peeing at Union Station and that's been my primary Metro stop for the last 11 years. Now H St. is another story altogether.
I've seen more peeing into the Dupont Circle fountain than the Columbus fountain.
However, there appears to be more bathing/hair washing at Union Station.
What's odd is that Union Station is private property, and as such they can get rid of panhandling and vagrants much easier than many areas can.
Oddly, they choose not to bother. On some summer nights that nice vaulted-ceiling exterior walkway is quite the gauntlet...
anyone know anyone at ddot we can call to get these plans?
Well, if anyone is interested in letting him know, the ANC commissioner Chair of Planning, Zoning and the Environment for
ANC 6C06, which covers Union Station, is Ryan Velasco.