County of statue: Fulton County
Location of statue: Marietta St. NW & Forsyth St. SW, Atlanta
Artist: Alexander Doyle, 1857-1922, sculptor
Founder: Ames Manufacturing Company &
Gorham Manufacturing Company
Fabricator: Southern Granite Company
Contractor: J.P. Fallon
DIMENSIONS:
Sculpture – Male Figure 3’-6” wide x 8’-7” high
Female Figures 3’-3” wide x 7’-2” high
Base – 15’-9” wide x 15’-6” deep x 4’-7” high
Overall height - 22’-7”
Monument text:
(Front of base):
HENRY W. GRADY
JOURNALIST, ORATOR, PATRIOT
EDITOR OF THE ATLANTA CONSTITUTION
BORN IN ATHENS, GEORGIA, MAY 24TH, 1850,
DIED IN ATLANTA, DECEMBER 23rd, 1889.
GRADUATED AT THE STATE UNIVERSITY IN THE YEAR 1868,
- HE NEVER HELD OR SOUGHT PUBLIC OFFICE. -
"WHEN HE DIED HE WAS LITERALLY LOVING A NATION INTO PEACE."
HENRY W. GRADY
(bottom base):
THIS TABLET PLACED HERE BY THE CENTRAL
MARIETTA STREET ASSOCIATION ON THIS OCCASION
OF THE FORMAL DESIGNATION OF THIS
JUNCTION OF THE CITY AS "HENRY GRADY SQUARE"
DECEMBER 20, 1929
Proper Description: "A memorial featuring a full-length portrait of Henry W. Grady, flanked on the lower level by two seated allegorical female figures. Grady is depicted as he is giving a speech, dressed in a long coat and vest. His proper right hand is raised to his chest. The seated female figures on the lower level of the base represent Memory and History. One figure holds a crown of laurel leaves; the other holds a pen in her proper right hand, a scroll in her proper left hand, her proper left foot atop a book." ~ Smithsonian American Art Museum
Remarks: "Henry Woodfin Grady (1850-1889) was a writer and speaker who became a reporter for the Atlanta Constitution in 1876 and served as part-owner and managing editor of the newspaper from 1880 until his sudden death of pneumonia. One of the inscriptions on the rear of the base is an excerpt from a speech Grady delivered in Boston a few days before his death, where he contacted a cold that developed into pneumonia. The other inscription on the rear of the base is an excerpt from an address Grady delivered to the graduating class of the University of Virginia, June 25, 1889. The memorial was erected by a committee, with more than $20,000 raised through public subscription, including contributions from the City of Atlanta and the State of Georgia. Bids for the memorial were completed on March 1, 1890. The figure of Grady was cast by the Ames Manufacturing Company, and the allegorical figures were cast by the Gorham Manufacturing Company. The base was fabricated by the Southern Granite Company. Ground was broken for the memorial on Sept. 7, 1891, under the direction of contractor P. J. Fallon. Originally, the sculpture was installed in front of City Hall (now demolished) on Marietta Street in the heart of downtown Atlanta. Later, the sculpture was relocated to its current site, and on Dec. 20, 1929, the new site was designed as Henry Grady Square by the Central Marietta Street Association. In preparation for Atlanta's 1996 Olympics, the sculpture was moved a few feet to create a wider median for pedestrians." ~ Smithsonian American Art Museum
"This memorial bronze sculpture to Atlanta’s famous “New South” newspaper editor was originally dedicated on October 21, 1891 to 25,000 on-lookers. Henry Grady, editor of The Atlanta Constitution, was known as a champion of southern industry and agriculture in the post-Civil War period. Born in Athens, Georgia on May 24, 1850, Grady graduated from the State University in 1868, and died an untimely death on December 23, 1889 in Atlanta. The funds to erect the monument were generated through “public subscriptions” that were received from throughout the United States, an unprecedented tribute considering that Grady had held no office and died as an “unpretentious private citizen.”
"The artist Alexander Doyle, a well-regarded sculptor from New York, has depicted Grady in an orator’s stance with two virtues seated beneath him facing north and south. The inscription on the north side on the monument is a quotation taken from an address delivered in Boston a few days before his death, where he contacted a cold that developed into deadly pneumonia.
"This hour little needs the loyalty that is loyal to one section and yet holds the other in enduring suspicion and estrangement. Give us the broad and perfect loyalty that loves and trusts Georgia alike with Massachusetts—that knows no South, no North, no East, no West, but endears with equal and patriotic pride every foot of our soil, every state of our Union.
The monument was originally positioned in front of City Hall (now demolished) on Marietta Street, and was the site of political rallies and activities. The area was named Henry Grady Plaza on November 20, 1929. For the Olympics, CODA restored the sculpture, and moved it slightly to create a more pedestrian friendly viewing plaza on Marietta Street.
"With a grant from an anonymous donor and support from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, APAL undertook a major restoration of the Henry Grady Monument in 2004. This included a major cleaning and blasting with walnut shells to remove any remaining dirt, rewaxing and repatination, and treatment with a corrosion inhibitor. APAL continues to maintain and conserve the sculpture an on-going basis." ~ APAL Fund in care of The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, Inc.