In some criticisms, the standing figures were taken to be lesser than Roosevelt. “Pope refers to the figures as a ‘heroic group.’ That’s important. This heroic group…will symbolize the fearless leadership, the explorer, benefactor and educator….”-From a description of the architect’s design approved by the Memorial Commission, 1928 “In the center of the terrace…will arise a polished granite pedestal bearing an equestrian statue of Roosevelt with two accompanying figures on foot, one representing the American Indian and the other the primitive African. Here is a quote from John Russell Pope – the architect of the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial: I’m sure we would differ on a number of issues but in 1900 you’d be had pressed to find someone who was more progressive that he and willing to act on his beliefs. He was a Republican and I am a proud liberal Democrat. We could do with a bit of Teddy Roosevelt in our politics right now. I’m sure many people will have criticisms but I would remind them that no human is perfect and that his accomplishments did good things for this country. One could go on and on about his accomplishments. He was the founder of our National Park System. Washington was his guest and one of his policy advisers. He was the first president to invite a black man to dinner in the White House. He as the Trust buster! He was not a racist. He was a corruption fighter and worked hard to bring the trusts…similar to current multinational corporations…under control. Teddy Roosevelt was a progressive for his time. The removal of the Teddy Roosevelt statue from the front of the Natural Museum is wrong and is another example of the craziness that afflicts our country. Medora (pinpointed below) has a population of 129. The Museum will pay the costs of removing the statue, according to The New York Times, which also reported that a design has been approved for a plaque for the empty site.Īs one Upper West Side man said, “Farewell or good riddance depends on your point of view.”Įither way, the statue is unlikely to greet as many passers-by as it does today. (What will the skateboarders do in the meantime?) “We do not have a specific date for removal, but will get back to you as the schedule resolves.” The removal of the statue will be “a multi-month process, including the restoration of the steps,” a spokesperson for the AMNH informed the Rag. Theodore Roosevelt V, a great-great grandson of the president, said, “Rather than burying a troubling work of art, we ought to learn from it.” “With their added support, the TR Library will establish an Advisory Council composed of representatives of the Indigenous Tribal and Black communities, historians, scholars, and artists to guide the recontextualization of the statue,” according to the release.
Members of the Roosevelt family are in favor of the plan. Presumably, that process will occur between now and 2026, when the TR Library is scheduled to open. The agreement with the City allows the TR Library to relocate the statue for storage while considering a display that would enable it to serve as an important tool to study the nation’s past.” “Moreover, its current location denies passersby consent and context. “The board of the TR Library believes the Equestrian Statue is problematic in its composition,” a press release said. The statue shows Theodore Roosevelt on horseback, flanked by a Black man and a Native-American man, half clad and on foot. The statue comes with heavy baggage it has long been a source of anger and protest by individuals and groups who believe it portrays people of color as subservient and inferior - and whites as superior.
That role of unofficial museum-greeter is part of the reason for its removal, according to the board of directors of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, in Medora, North Dakota, where the statue is being sent on “long-term loan” from New York City. Whether you’re celebrating or mourning, fuming or couldn’t care less, the Equestrian Statue of Theodore Roosevelt, as it is formally known, is being removed after 81 years of greeting visitors at the American Museum of Natural History, on 80th Street and Central Park West.