Bostoniano Magazine features "Boston Bronze and Stone Speak To Us" Boston, MA

BOSTONIANO

Published a few years ago, Joseph R. Gallo’s “Boston Bronze & Stone Speak to Us” has become one of the most sought after books on Boston’s art history. The
book is a beautiful pictorial essay of the city’s most talented artists and commemorative events over a 400- year history. “The artist/sculptor cap- tures the spirit of a
human experience,” writes Gallo. “This sometimes eclectic selection of unusual and often contradictory monuments seems to me somewhat symbolic of the idiosyncratic character of Boston itself.”

 Sure, you might know about the Christopher Columbus statue on the Waterfront, but did you know there is one in a Beacon Hill garden, too? And how about Parkman Plaza, adorned with sculptures by artists Arcangelo Cascieri and Adio DiBiccari? (bostonbronzeandstone.com)
August 2015.

"Boston Bronze and Stone Speak To Us" book can be purchased at Faneuil Hall Book Store, The Old North Church Gift Shop and Amazon.com.

Why Monuments are Defaced or Destroyed Boston, MA

Christopher Columbus Defaced

Christopher Columbus Monument by Andrew J. Mazzola

Photos by Steven Passacantilli courtesy NorthEndwaterfront.com http:/northendwaterfront.com/2015/06/christopher-columbus-statue-vandalized/

Why are Monuments Defaced?

Christopher Columbus Carrara marble statue in Boston was defaced a few weeks ago to protest the on going conflict in some of our American cities between Afro-Americans and Local police forces.

A number of years ago a similar defacing and decapitation of the Christopher Columbus monument in the city of Boston occurred, at that time from an out cry of our native American community for injustices done to their people past and present.

Each protest to this white Carrara marble statue was indirectly symbolically aimed at our White Caucasian majority. Christopher Columbus symbolizes that White Caucasian Christian majority from Europe who dominated, conquered, controlled enslaved and almost eradicated these minority groups within America.

Monuments can bring out all sorts of feelings, emotions ideologies out from all people and all sectors of society.Monuments speak to each one of us in different and unique ways.

Christopher Columbus

Waterfront / Christopher Columbus ParkAndrew J. Mazzola, SculptorCarrara Marble

This monument is located in one of the most beautiful and historic parks within Boston.
The historic docks constructed and used for the Mercantile trade between Boston, Europe and the Caribbean during the 1600’s,1700’s and 1800’s border this park.

The Boston Parks Department Summer Concert Series and the Holiday lighting of the blue lit Arbor Ceremony all happen here, right before Christopher Columbus.

The Christopher Columbus Park was constructed in 1974, thanks to the efforts of a non-profit group formed by residents and businesses in the North End and Waterfront areas. This tribute to the park’s namesake explorer was added a few years later. In their proximity to the North End, the statue and park emphasize Columbus’s Italian heritage. The statue created by Andrew J. Mazzola of Norwood Monumental Works is carved from Italian Carrara marble, favored by sculptors for its quality and its translucence. The marble’s porous surface has also been susceptible to vandals, some of whom view Columbus as an oppressor, not a hero.

The voyages of Columbus molded the future of European colonization and encouraged European exploration of foreign lands for centuries to come.

Columbus’ initial 1492 voyage came at a critical time of emerging modern western imperialism and economic competition between developing kingdoms seeking wealth from the establishment of trade routes and colonies. In this sociopolitical climate, Columbus’s farfetched scheme won the attention of Isabelle of Castle. Severely underestimating the circumference of the Earth, he estimated that a westward route from Iberia to the Indies would be shorter than the overland trade route through Arabia. If true, this would allow Spain entry into the lucrative spice trade heretofore commanded by the Arabs and Italians. Following his plotted course, he instead landed within the Bahamas at a locale he named San Salvador. Mistaking the lands he encountered for Asia, he
referred to the inhabitants as (“indios,” Spanish for “Indians”). 

"Boston Bronze and Stone Speak To Us" can be purchased on Amazon.com, Fanuiel Hall Gift Store and Old North Church Gift Shop Boston, MA

A Monument Came to Visit Me or Did I Visit It?

          A monumemt came to visit me today, or did I visit it?

The Healing Wall

Joe Gallo Touching the names etched on The Healing Wall

Flags waved and sirens sounded, the truck carrying the monument, escorted by Massachusetts State Police followed by 350 motorcyclists roaring by with our 58,300 Vietnam War Veterans coming back to visit all of us.

All of the solders arrived; their names etched on garbo black aluminum wall panels. Our Governor, Charlie Baker, and hundreds of others greeting them," That is the lesson Vietnam taught us. Even if you don't support the war, you should support the soldier."

I was no soldier like these men and women or like my father was during the Second World War.

I had to visit these names of once alive youthful Americans with their hopes and dreams as all of us had at their age. Americans who went in place of me. I had to greet and thank them for their ultimate sacrifice for their country. I came very close of going to Vietnam then. The lottery was my master as it was for every young man at that time.

Touching the wall of names connected me with them. I, like everyone else who views this wall was unable to discern these soldiers rank nor ethnicity. I do know these soldiers were all my American brothers and sisters. Monuments do that with people. Monuments help to celebrate,  criticize,  educate, commemorate, inspire, remember, respect and even heal the men and the women who look upon these monuments with etched names. Radiating from such slabs of stone, aluminum, marble or bronze are feelings or memories of these veterans and the times they lived and died.

Was I worthy enough to even touch these young soldiers names, frozen in time, their ultimate sacrifice allowing me to stand on this side of the Wall of life? This thin barrier of sheer aluminum here in Gloucester or stone in Washington DC, separates us.

I came to visit and thank all 58,300 soldiers allowing me to live my life with freedoms that are all so dear to each one of us. Thank you American Veterans for allowing me to live my life, my dreams.

Thank all you soldiers, you are still touching us all today.

Joseph R Gallo 

14 Old Nugent Farm Road, Gloucester, MA

author of "Boston Bronze and Stone Speak To Us"

A most Wonderful Letter about" The USS Boston and the Japanese Peace Bell" 1945.

A thank you letter from Lola Heiler- Stillman about my talk at the University of Mass OLLI lecture series.

Lola states,

"Thanks Joe for your kind reply.  I too have been laid up with medical problems - had hip replacement surgery in early June and now am going through PT to strengthen/straighten leg/hip.  I finally got a chance to order your book from Amazon as gifts for two of my friends who love Boston and its history.  One is an "OFD" (Originally From Dorchester) like me whose dad retired from the Boston public school system after 30 years of teaching high school history.  We both share a love and passion for the city of our birth and a desire to educate in our own unique ways.  She was the person who introduced me to OLLI at UMass Boston and helped me present a Quincy Access TV program on the bell/USS Boston and its connection to the city of Quincy (built at Fore River Shipyard in 1942/launched in 1943).

The Boston Courant did a brief article on the bell for this past week's edition.  The writer Jordan Frias was looking for a tie-in to WW2 70th anniversaries so I suggested he focus on 1945 when the USS Boston sailors found the bell at the Yokosuka weapons depot/foundry during the occupation.  I also stressed that 2015 is the 340th anniversary of the bell's casting.  

I continue to look forward to educating the public about Boston's peace bell and hope to write a monograph for the Emerald Necklace Conservancy that will be available to the public when they visitor the Shattuck Visitor Center in the Back Bay Fens.  Also plan to continue my relationship with OLLI UMass Boston by doing a presentation on my hero Frederick Law Olmsted and his Emerald Necklace parks next spring.  Will include a tour of the Back Bay Fens as part of the program.  I love what OLLI stands for so whatever contribution I can make brings me joy.

You as well have inspired me in my own Boston historic pursuits and I'm so glad to have had the opportunity to meet you in person.

Happy summer.  Lola."

This below quote taken from a March 19, 2012 article in Back Bay Patch by Lola Heiler- Stillman exclaims,

"Forged in 1675, the 450-pound bell rang for centuries in religious ceremonies at the Manpuku-ji temple in Sendai. During World War II, the Japanese government compelled its citizens to donate metals to be smelted down and turned into artillery, and the bells were granted no exception. As a result, nearly 95% of all of the temple bells in Japan were lost. During the American invasion of Japan, Navy soldiers found 500 bells ready to be repurposed into weapons of war and took several back to America. Capt. Marion Kelley of the USS Boston brought this particular bell back in 1946.Over the next decades, all but one of the bells were returned to their original homes in Japan as diplomatic gestures. When the US State Department contacted Sendai in 1953 to arrange the bell’s return, a group called the Temple Believers offered to allow the bell to remain in Boston as a gift. 'They were donating it in the spirit of peace and friendship between the two cities,' says Heiler-Stillman."

Thank you Lola for your passionate research and your kind words about my book "Boston Bronze and Stone Speak To Us", Joe Gallo

Another Japanese Peace Offering in our Boston Public Garden

Japonese Lantern Boston Public Gardens

Japanese Lantern (16th Century)

Boston Public Garden / near Bridge Donated by Japanese Art Dealer Bunkio Matsuki Iron / Granite
Ornamenting Boston’s beautiful Public Gardens, this iron lantern was a gift from the people of Japan in 1904.

The lantern is symbolic of the light brought to gardens by other Japanese lanterns and was donated by Japanese art dealer Bunkio Matsuki. Since the 7th century such lanterns were used in Buddhist temples and shrines. Matsuki was born in Japan where he was trained as a Buddhist monk but he immigrated to Boston in 1888 where he established a business promoting Japanese art. 

Taken from "Boston Bronze and Stone Speak To Us"

"Boston Bronze and Stone Speak To Us" can be purchased at Old North Gift Shop , Faneuil Hall Gift Shop and Amazon. Com.

Homicide and The Needless Death of Our Young.

Homicide and The Needless Death of Our Young.

Garden of Peace

Government Center 
Judy Kensley McKie / Catherine Melina, Sculptors Bronze / Granite

The stone base of this monument symbolizes “Tragic Density” and the bronze Ibis ascending represents “Hope”. It was erected to honor the loss of innocent lives especially on our city streets. This serene Garden of Peace captures in bronze and stone the hopes of all who dream of living in peaceful communities, societies, and a peaceful world.

The Garden of Peace is a memorial commemorating victims of homicide and 
a living reminder of the impact of violence. 
It is a visual testament to the need for 
eliminating violence. The Garden is a symbol 
of hope for peace and renewal in our lives, 
our community, and the world.

Nancy, A Passage of Time (1978)

 
Cambridge Street 
Rick Lee, Sculptor 
Cor-Ten Steel and Stainless Steel / Granite

A personal tragedy inspired this universal symbol of sudden death that can effect any of us at any time.

The Drucker family commissioned this sculpture in honor of their deceased daughter and sister, Nancy, who was killed in a car accident in 1975. They donated the piece to the city and dedicated it on May 30th, 1978, the date of Nancy’s 28th birthday. Although the sculpture might be said to resemble an open book, it is primarily abstract. The two materials used to create it stainless steel and Cor-Ten steel create contrast in the work’s surface as the Cor-Ten half rusts with exposure to the elements, and the stainless half resists that decay. The Cor-Ten surface, then, marks the passage of time as it corrodes, alluding to our collective mortality, while the stainless element retains its sheen, as does Nancy’s memory through this memorial. 

"Boston Bonze and Stone Speak tTo Us" can be purchased at Faneuil Hall Gift Store , Old North Church Gift Store and Amazon. com

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JFK Boston Landmark and Monument Massachusetts State House front Lawn Boston, MA

John F. Kennedy Monument Boston Landmark

Happy Birthday to JFK Remembered.

Outside Beacon Hill State House south lawn Isabel Mcllvain (1943- ), Sculptor Bronze / Stone

JFK always moving forward

This bronze statue of John F. Kennedy, the35th President of the United States. Dedicated on May 29, 1990, was designed and sculpted by Isabel McIlvain and paid for by the contributions of private citizens.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy, also referred to as John F. Kennedy, JFK, John Kennedy or Jack Kennedy, was the 35th President of the United States. In 1960 he became the youngest man ever elected president of the United States. He served from 1961 until his assassination in 1963.

Kennedy represented the state of Massachusetts from 1947 to 1960, first as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, and then, in the U.S. Senate. Kennedy, the Democratic candidate, was elected President of the United States in 1960, at age 43, against Republican candidate Richard Nixon in one of the closest elections in American history at that time. He was assassinated on November 22, 1963. 

"Boston Bronze and Stone Speak To Us"can be purchased at Amazon.com, Faneuil Hall Gift Store, Old North Church Gift Store and Bestsellers Book Store Medford, MA