Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Less Noted Statues of New Orleans

Recently some efforts by some people, including the douchy Mayor, to remove some Confederate-themed statues has made some wire services. I will express openly my wish to provide continuing General P. G. T. Beauredard in place, since he was one of us (I still think of myself as an Orleanian, having experienced Katrina and more of my life having lived there.)

I also point out that iconoclasm can be a trend that can go into some other territory. Consider this Brit- and Indian-killer from the old days:




Will Old Hickory get banished to the museum or city dump? You can bet that doing that would displease a lot of folks.

But, anyway, here's a collection of some other, probably noncontroversial statues in New Orleans:

Louis Armstrong, Old Satchmo himself, in Louis Armstrong Park! Everybody loved him.




Fats Domino, Al Hirt, and Pete Fountain. We can take a closer walk with them:




There's one of Chris Owens, a former burlesque entertainer from the French Quarter:





It would not be New Orleans without some suitable monument honoring the New Orleans Saints, Superbowl Champions in 2010 (Hooray!):




This charming statue graces a garden:

Saint Jeanne d'Arc is resplendent in gold:




And Winston Churchill is giving a peace sign:


Civic benefactor Margaret Haughery, who spent her time ceaselessly helping the poor, certainly deserves a statue as well as a celestial crown:


John McDonough gave his fortune to benefit New Orleans schools, has been honored with a statue and several public schools named after him:


Why not have a statue of Ignatius J. Reilly, fictional character in John Kenneth Toole's A Confederacy of Dunces?  Dunces enough rate statues in most cities.





Semper Fi! Molly Marine, the only statue honoring the Women's Marines from World War II:



                                

Bienville founded New Orleans in 1718. Surely he rates a statue:



And so does Bernardo de Galvez, Spanish military figure who conquered Pensacola during the American Revolution.



Simon Bolivar, South American liberator, rated a statue:



And there's even a statue honoring New Orleans's immigrants:


Artful funerary statues from some old New Orleans cemeteries that have a timeless grace and pathos:






6 comments:

Duckbutt said...

Removing Jackson's would be a logical next step, but a bad one. :-(

Mike said...

I don't know what it is, or isn't, about statues but they could all disappear and I probably wouldn't notice.

John A Hill said...

It has been a very long time since I have been to New Orleans. Perhaps it is time to return...

Cloudia said...

Those statues of "Grief" are a Victorian era trope, and a post unto themselves!
What fabulous statuary! Love Molly, the civic benefactress, Churchill...ALL of it. You really educated me about N.O. Yes, I spent my early decades in Philly, and YO! You can tell. 30 years in Hawaii leave their marks and memories. You will always belong to N.O. though she will in time belong to others who live there after you. It won't be 'your' town - but you will still belong to her........




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Warm ALOHA,
ComfortSpiral





Bilbo said...

Where else in the world would you find a statue honoring a burlesque entertainer. Well, maybe Las Vegas, but New Orleans did it with more class. This was a great advertisement for your city ... I definitely have to visit there some day!

Linda Kay said...

Awesome statues and memorials today, Angel. I love the cemetery one with the angel draped over the coffin. Definitely a sense of loss on that one. Have a blessed Christmas weekend.