Boston Landmark a monument to the Beginning of Memorial Day Celebration.

Upon entering the Massachusetts State House designed by Boston's own native son, Charles Bullfinch, a bronze monument resides.

Memorial Day Monument, a Boston Monument Landmark.

Grand Army Monument, another example of Boston Historic Art

Outside Beacon Hill State House south lawn Bronze Plaque 1930

“In 1868, Commander-in-Chief John A. Logan issued General Order No. 11 calling for all Departments and Posts to set aside the 30th of May as a day for remembering the sacrifices of fallen comrades, thereby beginning the celebration of Memorial Day.” 

Thus began the birth of our Memorial Day Weekend, Boston, MA. 

John A. Logan, is regarded as the most important figure in the movement to recognize Memorial Day( originally known as "Decoration Day") as an official holiday declared that May 30, 1868 be a "Decoration Day": decorating the graves of the war dead.

However, the first people who used ritual to honor this country's war dead were the formerly enslaved black community of Charleston, South Carolina, May 1, 1865 three years earlier then Commander Logan's declaration on May 30th 1868.

In the West African tradition of honoring their war dead by decorating the graves of their war dead back in Africa. The Charleston, South Carolina's Gullah people ( West African rice planters who were enslaved and sold at this port), Honored their fallen heroes both back and white on May 1, 1865 by having 3000 black children bearing roses with women and men bearing wreaths marched together decorating their fallen dead. Black troops were present including some of our 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment. Thus our roots of our National Memorial Day commemoration.

"Boston Bronze and Stone Speak To Us"  the Boston Monument Guide Book can be purchased at Old North Church Gift Shop, Faneul Hall Gift Shop, Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble Book Stores.

Happy Birthday! George Washington by Thomas Ball, Charlestown, MA sculptor.

Boston Public Gardens – Arlington St. Thomas Ball (1819 -1911), Sculptor Bronze/Stone

In Honor of George Washington's Birthday 2/22/14

Sculptor Thomas Ball created this equestrian statue of George Washington which was cast, mounted, and dedicated in 1869. The statue’s sword has been broken so often by vandals that it was finally replaced with fiberglass. The plaster study of it is on display in the Boston Atheneum Reading Room.

Since 1776, George Washington has been called The Father of Our Country by his fellow Americans. If there was an American Mount Olympus, Washington would be at the pinnacle.

Since the 1790s his image was everywhere on paintings, coins, prints, plates as well as seen here as a statute.

John Adams once said that George Washington had “the gift of taciturnity,” meaning he had an instinct for the eloquent silence. Here depicted as the resilient Military General of the American Revolution, not obsessed with winning battles but stead fast in his will to keep his Continental Army surviving and alive, wearing down the will of the British Army.

George Washington’s strength, whether it be military or political, was in his ability to surrender his omnipotent power as a leader in both positions of leadership.

Washington began the tradition of a two-term presidency, national unity and the long standing policy of independence from foreign powers, Proclamation of Neutrality “the strategy of enlightened procrastination.” (Ellis,127-131 )

Happy Birthday to George Washington, father of our country, from Joe Gallo author of "Boston Bronze and Stone Speak To Us"another celebration of great American events and people through the medium of Boston Statues and Monuments.
"Boston Bronze and Stone Speak To Us"can be purchased At Bestsellers Bookstore Cafe, Old North Church Gift Store, Amazon.com and Barnesd & Noble Book Stores.



The inspiration of the Bobby Orr Moument for the Boston Bruins team.

Government Center / TD Gardens, Cause Way Street H. Weber, Sculptor Bronze / Granite

Boston’s great Bobby Orr serves as inspiration for all who visit the TD Garden. Orr and the Boston Bruins, the 2011 Stanley Cup Champions, are honored in this monument to triumph, victory, athletic accomplishment, and team spirit.

Under a clear blue sky on a cool spring afternoon, in the shadow of TD Garden and in front of thousands of adoring fans, friends and family, Bobby Orr unveiled the 800-pound bronze statue commemorating his famous overtime goal against the St. Louis Blues that gave the Boston Bruins the 1970 Stanley Cup 40 years ago.

The ultimate team player, Orr was thrilled to learn that the base of the statue bears a replica of that section of the Stanley Cup that bears the names of all his teammates, coaches and team officials.

“There is nothing more valuable in life than the love and support from friends and family,” Orr said. “That makes me the richest man in the world.” The statue stands at the West end of TD Garden, about 20 yardsfrom Causeway Street, which Harry Sin- den, the coach of the 1970 Bruins and later general manager and president of the team, suggested to Boston Mayor Thomas Menino be renamed “Bobby Orr Place.”

Orr was joined by former teammates Johnny Bucyk, Derek Sanderson, Ken Hodge Sr., Johnny “Pie” McKenzie, Don Marcotte and Gary Doak. Orr gave spe- cial thanks to Kathy Bailey, the widow ofGarnet “Ace” Bailey who died in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States. (Read more: http://www.foxnews. com/sports/2010/05/10/orr-statue-un- veiled-flight-forever/#ixzz1877IiEtX, Dec. 14, 2010).

Edgar Allan Poe Monument, Boston, MA

Proposed Edgar Allan Poe Monument on Edgar Allan Poe Square at the corner of Charles and Boylston Streets Boston, MA is coming soon with proper future funding. "Boston Bronze and Stone Speak To Us "second edition shall surely place Poe new monument in our book for all to share!

Did you know Poe was born at this above location?

"One of the best-kept secrets in Boston's literary history concerns the most influential writer ever born here: Edgar Allan Poe. And the secret is this: he was born here! Over the past 200 years, leading up to the bicentennial of Poe's birth on January 19, 2009, his connections to other East Coast cities -- Richmond, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York -- have been celebrated and memorialized. Finally, Mayor Thomas M. Menino dedicated this above location as Edgar Allan Poe Square with a plaque.

While each of these cities hosts a museum or historic house that commemorates Poe's standing as a local author, Boston has made itself conspicuous for its apparent determination to treat the master of mystery -- America's first great critic and a foundational figure in the development of popular culture -- like an undeserving orphan.

The walking tour made possible by this brochure ( The Raven's Trail) offered by www.poeboston is designed to begin a new era in the way Poe's connection to Boston is understood and experienced. While it's true that Poe fought a career-long battle against Boston-area authors, whose moralistic poems and stories sounded to him like the croaking frogs, it's also true that he had positive feelings about the place." (The Raven's Trail 2009 ,The Edgar Allan Poe Foundation of Boston, Inc.)

Please visit for more information poeboston.org

Boston is America America is Boston!

Abraham Lincoln by Thomas Ball

Emancipation Group 1877

Park Square / Charles and Stuart Streets Thomas Ball (1819-1911), Sculptor Bronze / Stone

Freedom, release, and liberty are honored by this Thomas Ball monument.

“A duplicate casting of Thomas Ball’s Emancipation Group (originally executed for the Freedman’s Memorial Society in Washing- ton) was given to the city of Boston in 1877 by Moses Kimball and put up in Park Square.”(38 Whitehall).

The original version of this work stands in Lincoln Park in Washington, D.C.

The Great Emancipator freeing a male African-American slave modeled on Archer Alexander. The ex-slave is depicted crouching shirtless and shackled at the president’s feet.

The monument has long been the sub- ject of controversy. Despite being paid for by African-Americans because of the supplicant and inferior position of the black figure, histo- rian Kirk Savage in 1997 condemned it as “a monument entrenched in, and perpetuating, racist ideology.”



Gandhi sculpture revisited Boston Ma

—I have copied this news article to illustrate just how important our Boston Public Art and sculpture mean to our Boston citizens and ideals. Boston Public Art is always interacting and alive with our great city!

Go Boston Bronze and Stone Speak To Us!

For nine weeks, a replica of the Gandhi statue belonging to the Peace Abbey in Sherborn joined hundreds of protesters at the Occupy Boston camp in Dewey Square. While there, it offered the protesters a source of unity, and several stood to protect it as the clock struck midnight on Thursday night, many ready to be arrested during the anticipated police raid that never happened.

It was on Friday night when the police closed down the camp.

The statue moved all around the camp in its final night of occupation, standing at times along Atlantic Avenue at the front of the camp and by the media tent.

“It’s been a rallying point of solidarity,” college student Danny Foster said. “It lets people know we’re peaceful.”

Peace Abbey founder Lewis Randa accompanied the fiberglass Gandhi along with his two sons and others from the Abbey through the early-morning hours after the eviction order took effect.

They decided to leave it at the camp for one more night, and its whereabouts were unknown for a while Friday, though it became clear that protesters took it to protect it.

“It turned up in the hands of people that love that statue,” Randa said.

The statue has since returned to Sherborn, where it will be refurbished.

The Peace Abbey offered the statue to Occupy Boston in solidarity with its nonviolent message.

“It’s a powerful symbol of nonviolence,” Randa said. But, “it’s just fiberglass.”

While Randa and those who accompanied him weren’t planning to get arrested, a number of those who stood with arms-linked claimed that they were.

“It’s a powerful experience to risk incarceration over an idea,” Randa said.

Before it became clear that the police wouldn’t raid the camp Thursday night, Randa reminded the crowd, “Don’t try to protect [the statue] using anything other than nonviolence,” he said.

The statue served as a focal point for the protesters, according to Dan Dick, a longtime volunteer at the Peace Abbey. Dick, the Randas and Esther Brandon, an intern at the Abbey, arrived at the camp at 11:30 that night to look after the statue.

“I just want to be sure that he’s safe,” Dick said.

Although Randa made six visits to the protest over its lifespan, the Gandhi statue remained there at all times, unsupervised by the Peace Abbey.

“Lewis has a tremendous amount of faith,” Dick said. “[He has] an ungodly amount of trust.”

The statue did incur some damage, including the temporary misplacement of Gandhi’s eyeglasses and a broken thumb. However, someone at the camp bandaged the broken piece and even painted it to blend in with the rest of the statue’s hand.

At one point during the occupation, Gandhi’s likeness was used to block the entrance to the nearby Goldman Sachs offices, which Randa said was a more appropriate place for the protests.

“The issue is not with Boston or Mayor Menino,” Randa said.

The original Gandhi statue rests permanently on the Peace Abbey’s Sherborn lawn. The version that was occupying Dewey Square was guarded by dozens of protesters, many of whom weren’t familiar with Randa or the Peace Abbey, which needs to sell some of its property due to financial difficulty.

Although Dick wore a large fanny pack stuffed with informational materials about the Abbey for those who were interested, the goal was not to divert attention away from Occupy Boston’s message.

“Everyone has a right to be here,” Randa said. “It’s no concern of ours about getting a following.”

Randa founded the Peace Abbey based on his experience as a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War. His experience with Occupy Boston was, “as powerful as anything I experienced in the ’60s,” he said.

The Gandhi statue served as a 9-foot reminder to the protesters, and a gift to everyone involved.

“It was a gift to Occupy Boston, to that statue and to the Peace Abbey,” Randa said. “It did nothing but remind them of the importance of nonviolence.”

Read more: Gandhi statue back at Peace Abbey after stay with Occupy Boston - Dover, MA - Dover-Sherborn Press http://www.wickedlocal.com/dover/features/x278310901/Gandhi-statue-back-at-Peace-Abbey-after-stay-with-Occupy-Boston#ixzz1gcT87Ogz

Bacchante and Infant Faun Boston Public Art Boston, MA

Bacchante and Infant Faun

Boston Public Library Frederick W. MacMonnies, Sculptor Bronze

“Banned in Boston, 1896,” the Boston Globe states.

This delightful light-hearted bronze piece was a gift from architect Charles Follen McKim, the designer of the original Boston Public Library. The statue depicts a nude woman holding an infant. The Boston Globe suggested that it be replaced by a “nice moral statue of a Sunday school teacher”. Further com- ments from a local minister called it “a memorial to the worst type of harlotry with which the world was ever afflicted.” McKim decided to remove it from the courtyard fountain and donate it to the New York Metropolitan Museum. The MET gladly ac- cepted.

Several years later, George Robert White, a Boston philanthropist, obtained a second “Bacchante and Infant Faun” casting and offered it to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts which they gladly accepted as well. Boston Public Library Court Yard still has the copy and not the original gifted piece to this day. Although not an original, “Bacchante and Infant Faun” defiantly and playfully dance on the fountain’s waters, meant to be an oasis for hard working academics everywhere and in every field of study.