By Steve Klamkin WPRO News
The Christopher Columbus statue that was vandalized to the point that Providence removed it from its pedestal in a city square now faces permanent removal.
Members of the city’s Special Committee for Commemorative Works voted Friday to recommend that the Board of Parks Commissioners make the removal permanent, appraise and sell the statue and ensure any proceeds be returned to the neighborhood.
The statue, a bronze replica of a silver statute built by the nearby Gorham Silver Company for display at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, was encased in plywood after vandals splashed it with red paint on Columbus Day weekend in October 2019.
The statue was removed from the small traffic island called Columbus Square at Elmwood and Reservoir Avenues by a city crane in June 2020.
During a two-hour zoom meeting on Friday, members of the advisory panel heard testimony from neighbors who said it held special significance because it was built by the Gorham company, which sparked development of the neighborhood, to critics who cited Columbus’ role in subjugating native people when he arrived in the Americas.
This story has been corrected to indicate that the Board of Park Commissioners rather than the Parks Department will make a final decision on the fate of the Columbus statue.
