Sidney Lanier Monument facts for kids
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| Location | Piedmont Park, Atlanta, Georgia, United States |
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| Designer | Carrère and Hastings Edward Clark Potter (bust) |
| Dedicated to | Sidney Lanier |
The Sidney Lanier Monument is a public statue in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It is located in Piedmont Park. The monument features a bust, which is a sculpture of a person's head and shoulders, of Sidney Lanier. He was a famous poet from Georgia. The monument was officially opened in 1914.
Contents
History of the Monument
Who Was Sidney Lanier?
Sidney Lanier was a poet born in Macon, Georgia, in 1842. After finishing college at Oglethorpe University in 1860, he served as a soldier during the American Civil War.
After the war, Lanier became a talented flutist. He played for the Peabody Symphony Orchestra in Baltimore. He also wrote many famous poems, like "The Marshes of Glynn". Lanier passed away at age 39 from tuberculosis. He got sick while he was a prisoner during the war.
Many places were named after him to honor his memory. These include Lanier County, Georgia and Lake Lanier.
Building the Monument
The monument was built in 1914 by the Piedmont Park Association. A woman named Sue Harper Mims helped pay for it. She was the wife of Atlanta Mayor Livingston Mims. She sold some of her jewelry to raise the money needed.
The monument was designed by a team called Carrère and Hastings. The bust of Lanier was created by Edward Clark Potter.
Challenges and Restoration
After the monument was built, it faced some problems. Students in Atlanta sometimes removed the bust as a fun prank. Because of this, the bust was eventually taken down. It was moved to Oglethorpe University in 1985.
In 2012, a new copy of the bust was placed back on the monument. The Atlanta Preservation Center led this restoration project. It took two years to complete. The restored monument was shown to the public on February 4, 2012.
There have been discussions about the monument's connection to the Confederate States of America. Even though Sidney Lanier was associated with the Confederacy, the monument itself was not seen as a Confederate monument by the restoration committee. However, it is still sometimes discussed alongside other Confederate memorials in the city.
Monument Design
The monument looks like an Egyptian stele. A stele is a tall, flat stone slab, often used as a monument. It has a special area in the front where the bust of Lanier is placed. The bust faces towards the west.
