Statue of Ezra Cornell

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Coordinates: 42°26′56.4″N 76°29′6.7″W / 42.449000°N 76.485194°W / 42.449000; -76.485194
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Ezra Cornell
Arts Quad, Ithaca, New York, United States
DesignerHermon Atkins MacNeil
TypeStatue
MaterialBronze
Granite
Beginning date1915
Completion date1917
Dedicated dateJune 22, 1919
Dedicated toEzra Cornell

Ezra Cornell is a

Arts Quad of the Cornell Central Campus, the monument honors Ezra Cornell, the co-founder and namesake of Cornell University. The statue, designed by Hermon Atkins MacNeil
, was dedicated in 1919.

History

Engraving of Ezra Cornell (1867)

Background

Cornell University Board of Trustees, a position he would hold until his death, and he proceeded to help the newly established institution grow by securing its designation as New York's land-grant university and donating 200 acres (81 ha) of land and $500,000 in cash.[2] Cornell died in Ithaca on December 9, 1874.[1]

Creation

The idea for a public statue honoring Ezra Cornell was put forth by students in 1906, with the idea of dedicating it on the centennial of Ezra's birth,

Robert H. Thurston, the dean of the mechanical engineering program at Cornell, who later encouraged MacNeil to further his training in Europe.[5] The contract for the statue awarded to MacNeil was for $25,000.[7] MacNeil worked on the statue between 1915 and 1917.[6][8][9] Speaking later of the statue, MacNeil stated that its construction was a labor of love, because Ezra looked like his father.[10] By 1918, work on the location for the statue was started, and in May, the foundation for the pedestal was placed between Morrill Hall and McGraw Hall. During this work, an old cistern, which used to be part of the university's water system, was uncovered.[11]

Dedication

The dedication celebrations for the statue was originally set to occur on October 8, 1918,[7] with a military parade and procession to take place as part of semicentennial celebrations for the university.[12] However, World War I caused these celebrations to be postponed.[13][14] These celebrations were instead rescheduled to June 20–22, 1919, with the university's commencement to be held the day after these celebrations.[13] The statue was officially unveiled on June 22, with Mary Cornell, Ezra's only living child, doing the unveiling.[15][14] The year after the statue's dedication, images of the monument were displayed at an annual exhibition held by the Architectural League of New York.[16]

Vandalism

Over the years, the statue has been the subject of occasional acts of vandalism.

  • In 1985, the statue was doused in light-blue paint by Columbia University students following an incident where the scepter of Alma Mater was stolen by Cornell students.[17]
  • In 2017, anti-Semitic posters and fliers were posted on both the statue and several buildings around the campus.[18][19]
  • In 2020, during nationwide
    graffitied with the phrase "I can't breathe". The base was later covered prior to its cleanup.[20][21]

Design

snowstorm

The monument consists of a bronze statue of Cornell atop a red granite pedestal.[22] The statue is 9 feet (2.7 m) tall, while the pedestal covers an area of 10 feet (3.0 m) by 8 feet (2.4 m). The pedestal rests on a stone platform that covers an area of 50 feet (15 m) by 20 feet (6.1 m).[12] The pedestal is also surrounded by a granite bench which extends on either side of the statue along the length of 50 feet (15 m). On the front of the pedestal is inscribed the following:[22]

EZRA CORNELL
MDCCCVII–MDCCCLXXIV

The statue depicts Cornell wearing a

Morse telegraph.[22] Cornell faces across the quad, and the statue is located across the quad from a statue of Andrew Dickson White.[13]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Cornell University 1920, p. 72.
  2. ^ Cornell University 1920, pp. 72–73.
  3. ^ The Cornell Daily Sun 1906.
  4. ^ The Cornell Daily Sun 1908.
  5. ^ a b Moon 2007, p. 180.
  6. ^ a b Tolles 2001, p. 475.
  7. ^ a b c The Cornell Civil Engineer 1917, p. 413.
  8. ^ Cline 2007, p. 26.
  9. ^ Dearinger 2004, p. 375.
  10. ^ McSpadden 1924, pp. 319–320.
  11. ^ The Cornell Daily Sun 1918.
  12. ^ a b Cornell Alumni News 1918, p. 1.
  13. ^ a b c Patterson 1919, p. 131.
  14. ^ a b Cornell Chronicle 2007.
  15. ^ Cornell University 1920, pp. 71–72.
  16. ^ Stone 1920, p. 128.
  17. ^ Oswald, John (May 15, 1985). "Scepter Returned; Alma Sleeps Better". Columbia Daily Spectator Year in Review. p. 8. Retrieved July 17, 2021. The statue of the founder of [Cornell] was covered from the mid-section down in light blue paint, which some say distinctly resembled Columbia Blue
  18. ^ Bogel-Burroughs & Delwiche 2017.
  19. ^ Coin 2018.
  20. ^ Steecker 2020.
  21. ^ Stamm 2020.
  22. ^ a b c Cornell University 1920, p. 71.

Bibliography

External links
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