In the context of Statue of Frederick Douglass (Rochester, New York), explore the Subsequent history and relocations of the History.
In 1941, the city decided to relocate the statue from the congested corner of St. Paul Street and Central Avenue to a quiet location overlooking the natural amphitheater at Highland Park.The artwork was surveyed by the Smithsonian Institution's "Save Outdoor Sculpture!" program in 1994. It was co-administered by the City of Rochester and the Monroe County Parks Commission at the time.In 2019, the statue was moved to Frederick Douglass Memorial Plaza, becoming the plaza's centerpiece. Rev. Julius D. Jackson, Jr of Trinity Emmanuel Presbyterian Church had begun advocating to move the statue for a visible location almost ten years earlier. A time capsule was found beneath the base of the statue in the process, but the contents, which seemed to be newspapers and books, were too badly damaged to be salvaged. The move was originally supposed to be completed for the bicentennial celebration in 2018, but was delayed due to issues with state funding and contract approval. The manager of the city's Douglass bicentennial project stated that the more prominent location was in accord with the original statue site: "Part of the reason it was put at the train station was because we were making a statement to people who were arriving that Frederick Douglass was an important person to us." She further stated that having the statue at the entryway to the Rochester Lilac Festival, the city's oldest and most famous festival, "lets visitors see how important the legacy of Frederick Douglass is."
Smithsonian Institution Highland Park Rochester Lilac Festival Save Outdoor Sculpture! Trinity Emmanuel Presbyterian Church Frederick Douglass Memorial Frederick Douglass