Lee Circle facts for kids
Lee Circle is a central traffic circle in New Orleans, Louisiana, which featured a monument to Confederate General Robert E. Lee between 1884 and 2017. The monument was a bronze statue by Alexander Doyle, a prominent American sculptor known for statues of Civil War figures. Lee Circle is located at the intersection of St. Charles and Howard Avenues. Prior to the erection of the monument, the location was known as Tivoli Circle or Place du Tivoli. Tivoli Circle was an important, central point in the city, as it linked upriver areas with downriver areas. It was a common local meeting point and the site remains a popular place to gather for Mardi Gras parades.
Removal of the Lee statue
On May 18, 2017, the City of New Orleans announced that the Lee statue would be removed at 9 a.m. the following day. This was the last of the four Confederate memorials to be removed by the city. The city also announced that the statue would be replaced with a water feature.
The removal of the Lee statue was completed on the evening of May 19 at 6 p.m. C.D.T., a departure from the other removals which occurred during early morning hours under the cover of darkness.
On February 23, 2019, a rider was banned for life from a Mardi Gras parade for throwing beads bearing the likeness of the Lee statue, which she had created and sold online as a business venture for profit. The beads were against a city ordinance that restricts advertising and political messaging, and were known to be non-compliant within Orleans Parish.
