Thomas Jefferson - Birmingham, Alabama
Posted by: 
xptwo
N 33° 31.244 W 086° 48.541
16S E 517735 N 3709034
It is appropriate that a statue of Thomas Jefferson is outside the Jefferson County Courthouse as the county is named for him. The statue is in Linn Park where the courthouse borders the park on the east side.
Waymark Code: WMEC1P
Location: Alabama, United States
Date Posted: 05/05/2012
Views: 3
Smithsonian Description: "Standing figure of Thomas Jefferson, dressed in knickers, vest, ruffled collar, long jacket and simple shoes with square buckles. He holds a rolled document at his side in his proper right hand; his proper left hand grips his vest."
Jefferson County was created by the Alabama Legislature in 1819. It is the most populated county in the state, home to around 700,000 residents. It was named after Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), the main author of the Declaration of Independence (1766), our second Vice President (1797-1801), and third President (1801-1809). The statue was created by a Birmingham artist and was placed outside the courthouse. It is located on the east side of the park and is easily reached by the many paths. The statue gave me the impression it is smaller than his actual 6 feet, 2 inch height, but one assumes they made it life-sized. Perhaps future visitors can tell what they think.
The Smithsonian page remarks section has more of the story: "Originally commissioned by the Birmingham Bar Association for their Law Day project. To assist with fundraising, the commission was adopted by the Jefferson County Historic Commission. $5,000 in seed money toward the commission was contributed by the Jefferson Federal Savings and Loan, who desired a statue for their property and who received the first casting of a half-scale model of the figure, modeled before the artist's death in 1976. When the full scale model was cast and dedicated in 1977, Linn Park was known as Woodrow Wilson Park."
TITLE: Thomas Jefferson
ARTIST(S): Bridges, Georges, 1899-1976, sculptor.
DATE: Modeled 1976. Cast 1977 (?). Copyrighted 1977. Dedicated July 6, 1977.
MEDIUM: Sculpture: bronze with brown patina; Base: pink and gray granite.
CONTROL NUMBER: IAS AL000226
Direct Link to the Individual Listing in the Smithsonian Art Inventory: [Web Link]
PHYSICAL LOCATION:
Linn Park
Park Place & 20th Street North
Birmingham, Alabama 35203
DIFFERENCES NOTED BETWEEN THE INVENTORY LISTING AND YOUR OBSERVATIONS AND RESEARCH:
none
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