ABOUT THE LIBRARY

A Classic Statuary Returns to Its Library Home

Library News & Announcements RSS Feed August 9, 2007

When the Library opens in late 2007, visitors to the new Central Library will be majestically greeted by three allegorical figures as part of a classic bronze statue personifying the major areas of human endeavor.

The statue, created by German-American sculptor Richard Bock in 1892, has been placed atop the 9th Street entrance of the new six-story addition of the transformed Central Library. Originally, the statue was part of the old Indianapolis Public Library building, which sat on the southwest corner of Ohio and Meridian Streets from 1892 until the building was demolished in 1967.

Upon the demolition of that building, the statue was stored at Crown Hill cemetery, where vandals removed parts of the sculpture, including a bust of Longfellow, a large globe, a quill pen, and a female torso, possibly that of Venus. In 1981, the incomplete sculpture was placed on the west lawn of Central Library at 40 E. St. Clair Street, until it was removed for the current transformation project.

Now the missing parts have been reconstructed and attached, and the statue has been restored.

Entitled “Arts, Sciences and Letters,” the Bock statue represents the spirit of knowledge embodied in the numerous books and materials housed at the library.

A female figure representing literature is shown holding a book on one side, with the other extended arm holding a pencil. A youthful figure, or genius, holding in his right hand the torch of enlightenment, represents science. Another female figure holding a drawing board, with a torso by Michelangelo at her side, represents art.

The statue, which is perched 28 feet above the north entrance of Central Library, weighs 3,800 pounds and is 14 feet tall by 17 feet wide at its base.

The reconstruction and restoration of the Bock statue was performed by Venus Bronze Works, Inc. of Detroit, Michigan.