In the last few years, Americans have had a lot of conversations about monuments. I've heard people on buses and in restaurants trying to tease apart the legacies of statues--intended to last forever--which honor bad causes and the men who supported them. One thing that rarely comes into these discussions is that statues and monuments *don't* last forever. They get worn away by the elements or the hands of [pilgrims who have to rub their lucky toe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregory_of_Nin#/media/File:Pied_de_Saint-Domnius.JPG). They also get moved. ![Drexel cropped.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmQYkW39y8qBBTMBrMCHpn2yYfC417NqDi5ny1cB2X28Rf/Drexel%20cropped.jpg) *The statue of Anthony Drexel being moved in 1984. Photo from [Drexel University Archives](http://drexel.edu/now/archive/2014/May/Ask-the-Archivist-Drexel-Statue/)* So let's check in on some of the statues and monuments that were in Fairmount Park in 1918. The *Philadelphia Inquirer* was kind enough to provide a list (which is very heavy on lions) on May 12, 1918: ![Fairmount Park Monuments and Statues.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmczC3S7RiwYfzubR1zAFh1hW7XPka5Jq6PEDKcTaX2G5X/Fairmount%20Park%20Monuments%20and%20Statues.jpg) That image is a little hard to read, so here I've transcribed it: - ABRAHAM LINCOLN MONUMENT - COW BOY STATUE - COLUMBUS MONUMENT - CATHOLIC T. A. B. MONUMENT - DYING LIONESS - ANTHONY J. DREXEL MONUMENT - FLORENTINE LIONS - BUST OF PRESIDENT JAMES A. GARFIELD - GIANT'S CAUSEWAY - GENERAL U. S. GRANT MONUMENT - GOETHE MONUMENT - HAYDEN MONUMENT - HUMBOLDT MONUMENT - HUDSON BAY WOLVES - HOUSTON MONUMENT - IL PENSEROSO - JAPANESE STONE LANTERN - JAPANESE TEMPLE GATE - JEANNE D'ARC MONUMENT - LION FIGHTER MONUMENT - SMALL LIONS ON STONE PEDESTALS - LIONESS CARRYING TO HER YOUNG A WILD BOAR - MAJOR GENERAL GEORGE GORDON MEADE - MORTON McMICHAEL MONUMENT

Here's where some of those statues are NOW

Lincoln Monument

This one is still [where it was in 1918](https://www.google.com/maps/place/Abraham+Lincoln+Monument/@39.9695762,-75.1848235,19.75z/data=!4m12!1m6!3m5!1s0x89c6b903670f2153:0xd9f3bb51b044a47d!2sFairmount+Park!8m2!3d39.9881142!4d-75.1971204!3m4!1s0x89c6c7b0d81f8b27:0x9d004eb82bdb7fba!8m2!3d39.9695749!4d-75.1844571), but also is a super well documented statue. A [search of the Digital Public Library of America](https://dp.la/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=fairmount+park+lincoln) returns a lot of results, many of them stereoscopes from the 19th century. Our own [archive ](https://library.temple.edu/scrc) here at Temple University has a photo of [the monument defaced in 1965](http://digital.library.temple.edu/cdm/ref/collection/p15037coll3/id/13177). ![nypl.digitalcollections.510d47e0-ae6a-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99.001.w.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmRRmvdqdqZFC16eaa9k4G9A87kYGyEubG2msqtPZiZFNm/nypl.digitalcollections.510d47e0-ae6a-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99.001.w.jpg) *Stereoscopic photo of the Lincoln Monument in Fairmount Park from [The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Photography Collection, The New York Public Library.](https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e0-ae6a-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99)*

Christopher Columbus Monument

The statue of Christopher Columbus that once stood in Fairmount Park was moved to Marconi Plaza in 1982. ![Columbus.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmPMGvBuz1cDf7sL7484hpMdgZ33cGrBEqLLVxL1ZAeg1D/Columbus.jpg) *Image from [*Christopher Columbus and His Monument Columbia*](http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/29496?msg=welcome_stranger#illus368) by John Marcus Dickey*

Anthony Drexel Statue

This one has been moved multiple times, moving from Fairmount Park to the campus of Drexel University and then shifting around on campus several times. There's a [very detailed write-up](http://drexel.edu/now/archive/2014/May/Ask-the-Archivist-Drexel-Statue/) of these moves by a Drexel archivist, and even cooler, a animated video showing the plan for the sculpture's most recent move: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqsJyR1fwfY For these statues and some other attractions of Fairmount Park, check out the [StoryMap I made based on the WPA walking tour of West Fairmount Park from 1937](https://uploads.knightlab.com/storymapjs/d213468de642e6c02bfbef83a0f33ea6/west-fairmount-park/index.html). ^{100% of the SBD rewards from this #explore1918 post will support the Philadelphia History Initiative @phillyhistory. This crypto-experiment conducted by graduate courses at Temple University's [Center for Public History](https://sites.temple.edu/centerforpublichistory/) and MLA Program, is exploring history and empowering education. [Click here](https://steemit.com/introduceyourself/@phillyhistory/announcing-the-first-steem-powered-university-course-mining-the-year-1918-at-temple-university) to learn more.}