COLUMBUS MONUMENTS PAGES
| Place |
Artist |
Date |
Type |
Columbus, Ohio (USA)
State House |
Alphons Pelzer |
1892/1932 |
Statue |
Description:
Full figure portrait of Christopher Columbus standing with his proper right leg forward and his head bent down, looking at the globe in his proper left hand. His proper right arm is bent slightly and reaching forward. Next to him is a rectangular pedestal on which a sphere sits. Water cascades down each side of the base's front.
The statue is similar to those in Peoria, Ill., and Phillipsburg, N.J.
Inscriptions:
Sculpture's base, West side:
Christopher Columbus, an Italian navigator, launched four voyages of discovery to the new world.
East side:
Donated by the Josephinum to the State of Ohio. This statue was relocated to Capitol Square.
North side:
The fountain honors Ohio's sister state bond with Liguria, Italy, the navigator's home.
South side:
The Pontifical College Josephinum commissioned this statue from the W. H. Mullins studio.
Fountain: West side:
1492
the spirit of discovery
has the power to change
the course of human history
as demonstrated by
the voyages of
Christopher Columbus
whose imagination
shattered the boundaries
of the western world
Modern history has been shaped by
one man's courage to pursue a dream.
South side:
1892
A dream shared
by later generations
who explored a vast continent
where freedom and opportunity
beckoned to those with
the courage and immagination
to venture westward.
East side:
1932
Westward into Ohio
came the successors
to the spirit of Columbus,
naming the capitol city
of the new state
after the man who symbolized the spirit of the frontier…
North side:
1992
Frontiers explored
by later generations of Ohioans
extend beyond land and water
to a new world
whose potential
remains to be unlocked
by the spirit of discovery.
Notes
Christopher Columbus Discovery Plaza.
Located along the south side of the Statehouse, this 1892 statue by Alphons Pelzer was commissioned by Monsignor Joseph Jessing for display at the Pontifical College Josephinum courtyard (at 821 E. Main Street). It was moved to the Statehouse in 1932, a gift to the State when the Josephinum moved to Worthington.
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