Truemors
Christopher Columbus Memorial
Lorado Taft
Union Station
Washington, DC
Columbus (1451-1506) is credited with "discovering" North America in 1492 for his sponsors in Spain, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella (whose faces appear in a medallion on the rear of the memorial). His last name is the source of the "Columbia" in the District's name.
The memorial was paid for by the Knights of Columbus. The memorial is a much larger fountain, featuring carvings of a native American, an elderly European, the figure of "Discovery"on the prow of a ship, and a globe.
On Columbus Day (October 12 or the Monday closest to it), Italian, Spanish, and American dignitaries and groups lay wreaths at the base of the memorial.
A semicircular, double-basin fountain with a forty-foot shaft in the center. Standing in front of the shaft, a figure of Columbus is crowned with a globe surmounted by four eagles connected by garlands. At the base, on the right and left, are two figures, one a Native-American, typifying the New World and the other a Caucasian, typifying the Old World. At the foot of the statue is the prow of the ship Santa Maria. The prow extends into the upper basin of the fountain with a winged figurehead representing Discovery. Mounted on either side of the fountain are two marble lions.
Submitted for The Monthly Scavenger Hunt 8/08/sh9 - Derelict.
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