Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park
The Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park is a public park in the Boston's North End.
| Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park | |
|---|---|
 Aerial view of the park in 2016 | |
  | |
| Type | Public Park |
| Location | Boston |
| Coordinates | 42°21′40″N 71°03′06″W |
| Created | 1967 |
History
In 1967, the Massachusetts State Council of the Knights of Columbus voted to establish a non-profit corporation to construct affordable housing.[1] The Boston Redevelopment Authority selected them to develop a parcel, but the Supreme Council of the Order did not like the idea.[1] The Massachusetts State Council constructed the Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park instead in honor of their patron, Christopher Columbus.[1]
An Italian marble statue of Columbus was added in 1979. The Massachusetts Beirut Memorial was dedicated in the park in 1992.
In 1999, the director of the Massachusetts Historical Society denounced the park as a poor use of city resources with inappropriate symbolism, observing that Boston has no connection to Christopher Columbus. He recommended restoring the park to commemorate its historical use as a fishing wharf.[2]
Since the 2000s the Columbus statue has been frequently vandalized. Most recently, in the early morning hours of June 9, 2020, the head portion of the statue of Columbus was removed and stolen. Mayor Walsh said the remaining portion of the stature would be removed and placed into storage and the city would be reviewing if the Italian marble statue would ever be placed in a high visibility location in the future. The statue has been vandalized with red paint and the word "murderer" in 2004, beheaded for the first time in 2006, and spray painted with "Black Lives Matter" in 2015.[3]
References
- Lapomarda 1992, p. 99.
- Fowler, William. "Goodbye, Columbus". Boston Globe (27 Jul 1999).
- Ellement, John R. (2020-06-10). "Vandalized statue of Christopher Columbus will be removed pending a review, Mayor Walsh says". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
Works cited
- Lapomarda, S.J., Vincent A. (1992). The Knights of Columbus in Massachusetts (second ed.). Norwood, Massachusetts: Knights of Columbus Massachusetts State Council.
