Robert E. Lee Monument (Richmond, Virginia) facts for kids
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Robert E. Lee Monument
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U.S. National Historic Landmark District
Contributing Property |
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Statue atop the Robert E. Lee Monument
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 Location in Virginia
Location in the United States
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| Location | 1700 Monument Ave., jct. of Monument and Allen Aves., Richmond, Virginia |
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| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1890 |
| Architect | Mercie, Merius-Jean-Antonin; Pujol, Paul |
| NRHP reference No. | 06001213 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | January 5, 2007 |
The Robert E. Lee Monument in Richmond, Virginia, was a very large statue put up in 1890. It was the first statue on Monument Avenue and stayed the biggest for over 100 years. Since July 2020, it has been the last Confederate monument left on the Avenue. Legal discussions have stopped the Governor of Virginia from removing it completely.
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About the Statue and Its Location
The statue is made of bronze and was sculpted by Antonin Mercié. It shows Confederate general Robert E. Lee riding a horse. The horse in the statue is not Lee's famous horse, Traveller. The sculptor felt Traveller's size would not look right with the rest of the artwork. Lee himself is 14 feet (4.3 m) tall on his horse. The whole statue stands 60 feet (18 m) high on a stone base designed by Paul Pujol.
The land around the statue is controlled by the state. It forms a traffic circle where Monument Avenue and Allen Avenue meet. This "Lee Circle" is a well-known spot in Richmond.
History of the Monument
After Robert E. Lee died in 1870, several groups wanted to build a monument to him in Richmond. These groups included soldiers who fought with Lee and other associations. In 1886, these groups joined together to form the Lee Monument Commission. Lee's nephew, Fitzhugh Lee, who was also the governor of Virginia, led this commission.
The first stone for the monument was placed on October 27, 1887. The statue was made in pieces and put together in Paris. Then, it was shipped to Richmond and arrived on May 4. Newspapers at the time said that 10,000 people helped pull four wagons carrying the statue's parts. The finished statue was officially shown to the public on May 29, 1890.
The land for the statue was first offered in 1886. There was some disagreement because the land was outside the city limits. Richmond City later took over the land in 1892. For several years, the Lee Monument stood alone in a tobacco field before more buildings were constructed in the early 1900s.
In 1992, the iron fence around the monument was taken down. This was partly because drivers sometimes crashed into it, causing expensive repairs. After the fence was gone, the stone base became a popular spot for people to relax in the sun. In December 2006, the state cleaned and repaired the monument.
The monument has been recognized as important history. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007 and the Virginia Landmarks Register in 2006. It is also part of the Monument Avenue Historic District.
Protests and Changes
After the Black Lives Matter protests in June 2020, the traffic circle where the statue stands was unofficially renamed. A sign was put up that said "Welcome to Beautiful Marcus-David Peters Circle, Liberated by the People MMXX." This was named after Marcus-David Peters, a Black man from Richmond who was killed by the police in 2018.
During these protests, the monument became a place for people to show their ideas about fairness and equality. The statue was covered in graffiti. People danced at its base, and videos of important figures like George Floyd, Malcolm X, and Angela Davis were projected onto the statue itself. In October 2020, the monument, with all its new markings, was called one of the most important protest artworks in America since World War II.
Images for kids
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The equestrian statue
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Marcus-David Peters Circle, August 2020
