The A. Piatt Andrew Bronze Doors, once attached to the bridge by the same name, now can be properly viewed at the inner entrance of the Cape Ann Museum. Averse to viewing these doors on the bridge, passing by at 40 - 50-MPH, this is a much more benign venue.
Discovering these bronze doors, created by Boston sculptor John F. Paramino, I was pleasantly surprised this summer, with the display of these doors and the newly renovated Cape Ann Museum. Here this public art is properly displayed for the public.
The A. Piatt Andrew bridge,which connects Gloucester to the mainland, was dedicated to the Gloucester resident Abram Piatt Andrew, as the photo below depicts, "Soldier, Scholar, Statesman".
Boston sculptor and native John F. Paramino, who created this monument, attended North Bennett
Street Industrial School in Boston's North End; later he was a pupil of Bela Pratt and
assisted both Pratt and August Saint-Gaudens. Beginning as a designer
of commemorative medals and plaques, Paramino cornered the
market on plaque production in Boston under Mayor Curley. In
1931 he was accused by a Boston city councilor of running a monopoly
and of charging twice the going rate, but his supporters defended
him successfully. Many of the city’s bronze historical markers are
signed with his name. Declaration of Independence Monument, The
Lafayette Mall Monument, The Commodore John Barry Monument,
The Founders Memorial all located on the Boston Common; The Second Church Plaque, positioned on the only Charles Bullfinch Church remaining in the United Sates on Hanover Street Boston, MA and of course The World War Two Memorial on the Fenway Boston, MA just to mention
a few of his works. |
| A. Piatt Andrew Bronze Door |
A. PIATT. ANDREW BRONZE DOOR MONUMENT
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| Gloucester Bronze Door by John F. Paramino |
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| Joe Gallo author of "Boston Bronze and Stone Speak To Us" |
The above Bronze door signifies A. Piatt Andrew's acquired titles and honors, as a public servant, both in America and abroad. The lower door photo represents the Gloucester, MA (America's oldest fishing industry seaport) and the fishermen who risk their lives each day for us out on the seas.
Some general facts about Abram Piatt Andrew, Jr., taken from Wikipedia for those of who are unfamiier with his lifes' accomplishments.
Abram Piatt Andrew, Jr. (February 12, 1873 – June 3, 1936) was an economist, an Assisant Secretary of the Treasury the founder and director of the American Ambulance Field Service during World War I, and a United States Representative from Massachusetts. He studied at the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences from 1893 to 1898, graduating with a Masters degree in 1895 and a doctorate in 1900. He later pursued postgraduate studies in the Universities of Halle, Berlin, and Paris.
He moved to Gloucester, MA and was instructor and assistant professor of economics at Harvard from 1900 to 1909. In January 1907 Andrew published a paper that anticipated the economic panic that hit in the fall of that year.
On the strength of this paper as well as on his strong economics education, Andrew was selected to serve on the National Monetary Commission tasked with reforming the American banking system. Andrew took a leave from Harvard and spent two years studying the central banks of Germany, Britain and France. He served as Director of the U.S. Mint in 1909 and 1910, and as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury during 1910-1912. He attended the historic meeting at Jekyll Island 1910. The commission's report recommended the creation of the Federal Reserve System.
Andrew foundered the American Ambulance Field Service.
Andrew drove an ambulance in the Dunkirk sector for a few weeks during World War I but his supervisor suggested bigger plans for him. French army policy prohibited foreign nationals from traveling into battle zones.
In March 1915, Andrew met with Captain Aime Doumenc, head of the French Army Automobile Service and plead his case for the American volunteers. They desired above all, he said, "To pick up the wounded from the front lines…, to look danger squarely in the face; in a word, to mingle with the soldiers of France and to share their fate!" Doumenc agreed to a trial. The success of Andrew's Section Z was immediate and overwhelming. By April 15, 1915, the French created American Ambulance Field Service operating under French Army command.
Andrew headed the organization, soon shortened the name to "American Field Service" throughout the war, though his role changed significantly when its ambulance sections were taken over by the United States Army in late summer 1917.
Andrew established a domestic organization based in Boston to recruit young American drivers and to raise funds from wealthy donors. The stateside office was headed by Henry Davis Sleeper and assisted by Henry Hays Hammond and former ambulance driver both Gloucester residents.
Andrew was elected as a Republican to the Sixty-seventh Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Willfred W. Lufkin ; he was reelected to the Sixty -eighth and to the six succeeding Congresses and served from September 27, 1921, until his death.
He died on June 3, 1936, in Gloucester, MA , at his home "Red Roof" from influenza , which he had been suffering from for several weeks.
"Boston Bronze and Stone Speak To Us" sold on Amazon.com and in local book stores.
Poe's Life in Boston
Poe's Quarrel with Boston Writers
Poe, Boston, and the Publishing Industry
Poe in Popular Culture
Illustrated Poe
