Statue_of_Alexander_von_Humboldt_(Chicago)
The Alexander von Humboldt statue is a monumental statue in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Located in Humboldt Park, a major urban park in the Humboldt Park neighborhood, the statue depicts Alexander von Humboldt, a Prussian polymath and the park's namesake. The statue was dedicated in 1892.
Alexander von Humboldt statue (2014) | |
| 41°54′19.73″N 87°42′5.29″W | |
| Location | Humboldt Park, Chicago, Illinois, United States |
|---|---|
| Designer | Felix Görling H.C. Hoffman & Co. (pedestal) |
| Builder | Gladenbeck foundry H.C. Hoffman & Co. (pedestal) |
| Material | Bronze Granite (pedestal) |
| Height | 10 feet (3.0 m) |
| Dedicated date | October 16, 1892 |
| Dedicated to | Alexander von Humboldt |
The park and surrounding neighborhood were named in honor of Alexander von Humboldt, a Prussian polymath who, among other things, made numerous scientific voyages throughout the Americas during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.[1] Despite never having visited Chicago during any of his journeys, he became the park's namesake in 1869.[2] According to Chicago's NPR affiliate, the name was chosen due to "ethnic politics", as German Americans made up a significant portion of the neighborhood's population and were considered a growing voting bloc in the politics of Chicago.[1] The monument was paid for by Francis Dewes, a German-born brewer who is also known for the Francis J. Dewes House in Chicago.[1]
The statue was dedicated on October 16, 1892.[3] The unveiling ceremony, which saw speeches given in English, German, and Swedish, attracted approximately 20,000 spectators.[4] The bronze figure of Humboldt was sculpted by a German sculptor named Felix Görling and was cast in the Gladenbeck foundry in Berlin. The pedestal was designed and made by H.C. Hoffman & Co., a Chicago-based company, using granite from Freeport, Maine.[3] Notable speakers at the unveiling included Chicago Mayor Hempstead Washburne and University of Chicago professor Albion Woodbury Small.[5] The statue is one of several of Humboldt erected in the United States during the 1800s, alongside statues in Philadelphia, St. Louis, and the Cleveland Cultural Gardens.[6]
The monument features a bronze sculpture of Humboldt atop a granite pedestal, with the entire height of the monument being approximately 10 feet (3.0 m). Humboldt is posed as a lecturer, with a flower in his raised right hand and a book in his left hand, which is resting on a tree stump. A globe and other smaller symbols of some of the scientific fields Humboldt was involved in are present near his feet.[3]
- Pohlsander 2010, pp. 77–78.
- Simon 1894, p. 78.
- Simon 1894, p. 81.
- Pohlsander 2010, pp. 76–79.
- "Humboldt Park". Chicago Architecture Center. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
- Andreas W. Daum, "Nation, Naturforschung und Monument: Humboldt-Denkmäler in Deutschland und den USA" [Humboldt monuments in Germany and the US]. Die Kunst der Geschichte: Historiographie, Ästhetik, Erzählung, ed. Martin Baumeister et al. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2009, 99‒124.
- Pohlsander, Hans A. (2010). German Monuments in the Americas: Bonds Across the Atlantic. Peter Lang. ISBN 978-3-0343-0138-1 – via Google Books.
- Schmidt, John R. (November 16, 2011). "The story behind the Humboldt statue in Humboldt Park". WBEZ. Chicago Public Media. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
- Simon, Andreas (1894). Chicago: The Garden City (2nd Revised ed.). Franz Gindele Printing Company – via Google Books.
