PROVIDENCE – The fate of a historic yet controversial Christopher Columbus statue remains in limbo after the Providence Board of Park Commissioners voted on Monday to continue their discussion to a future meeting.
The continuance came after several hours of public comment and conversation about how and where best to memorialize the iconic piece of art and city history. The statue was removed from its longtime pedestal in Columbus Square after it was vandalized in June 2020.
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Commissioners were largely in agreement it should not go back there, if only to keep it from being vandalized again, or worse, destroyed.
“Returning the statue to that place is simply untenable,” said Mayor Jorge O. Elorza, who also serves as commission chairman. “It’s either insulting to certain groups or it’s going to get destroyed.”
But where best to display it – and under whose ownership – is a more complicated matter.
The city’s Special Committee for Commemorative Works previously recommended that the city sell the piece at auction – a process in the museum world known as deaccessioning – and use the profits to reinvest in the neighborhood.
Committee Chairman Ray Rickman lauded the piece for its “stunning” artistry. The 1893 statue was sculpted by the French artist who also designed the Statue of Liberty using silver from Providence-based Gorham Manufacturing Co., though it was later recast in bronze when gifted to the city by the Elmwood Association .
But, Rickman added , “the public tide has turned against [Columbus],” necessitating a new resting place shielded from public view.
Marianne Ruggiero, an Elmwood resident with Italian citizenship, agreed that the red paint dumped upon the statue last year – the latest in a series of vandalism incidents in recent years – demonstrated the “revisionist reawakening” against the once-revered icon in American history.
“I’d like to see something more representative there, something that speaks to the Native American presence,” Ruggiero said.
Others disputed the framing of the statue as a symbol of racism and genocide, instead calling it – and its namesake – a source of pride and celebration among the local Italian-American community.
“We don’t have much,” said Donald Angelo, past president of the Rhode Island Order Sons of Italy in America. “This is something for the Italian-American community to rally around.”
George Lazzareschi, president of the Italo American Club of Rhode Island, said his organization would have “no problem” purchasing it.
Council President John J. Igliozzi, who also serves on the parks commission, suggested leasing the statue rather than a sale to ensure the city can hold on to an important piece of its history.
“Everything that we sell, we lose a piece of Providence history,” Igliozzi said.
How much the statue is worth also remains in question. The commemorative works committee recommended a new appraisal to determine its value, though Rickman alluded to prior estimates that ranged from $250,000 to $1 million. The only recent estimate pegged the worth at $250,000 to $500,000, according to Wendy Nilsson, city parks superintendent. However, Nilsson added that preliminary discussions with auction houses suggested that some were reluctant to sell the piece, however valuable, given its controversial nature.
The parks commission will revisit its discussion and decision on the statue at a meeting in early 2022.
Nancy Lavin is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Lavin@PBN.com.
