Robert Burns - Jacksonville, FL
N 30° 20.102 W 081° 39.303
17R E 437034 N 3356092
This memorial to poet Robert Burns is located in Confederate Park in downtown Jacksonville, Florida, USA.
Waymark Code: WMC1TR
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 07/15/2011
Views: 6
The memorial was erected by the Robert Burns Association of Jacksonville, Florida. Burns, Scotland's national bard, penned his first verse at the age of 15 and is known for his wonderful poetry and his rescue of hundreds of the folk songs of Scotland.
Smithsonian Art Inventory Description: "A limestone bust of the poet Robert Burns atop a tall concrete shaft. The bust appears to be a likeness of the poet in his 20s or 30s. He is bare-headed and wears Victorian clothing, including a broad stand-up collar. The square foot of the base consists of two steps and a slope topped by a truncated shaft on which the bust rests. On the shaft there is a relief of a thistle emblematic of the Scottish heritage of Robert Burns." -- Source
Smithsonian Art Inventory Inscription: "(On front foot of base:) BURNS (On metal plaque, on front of shaft:) ERECTED BY/THE ROBERT BURNS ASSOCIATION/OF/JACKSONVILLE FLORIDA/PAST PRESIDENTS/D.J. PAUL/LINDSEY CAMERON/E.J.E. McLAURIN/W.E. PARMENTER/JAMES DOUGLAS/R.W. ATKINSON/J.H. BLAND/J.R. WALSH/D.A. CAMPBELL/J.S. MAXWELL/J.G. McGIFFIN/STEWART CHAPMAN/J.W. WHITE/JOHN OTHEN/CROMWELL GIBBONS/LOUIS MATTAIR/R.L. ATKINSON/JAMES GREIG/T.H. SOMPAYRAC unsigned" -- Source
Confederate Park, where the Burns statue is located, is in the Springfield area of Jacksonville, Florida, near downtown. The park, originally named Dignan Park, opened in 1907. It was the site for the 1914 annual reunion of about 8,000 Confederate soldiers of the United Confederate Veterans and is the location of a monument to the Women of the Confederacy. The park used to be a focal point for community cultural events, now it's a popular hangout for the homeless.