This area is one of the premier tourist attractions for Philadelphia and referenced several times in their official tourist site. My children and I had the best time checking out this area, the Fairmount Water Works interpretive site to the left and the sculpture garden to the right. Here is what the Philadelphia tourist attraction site has to say:
In 1890 General William M. Reilly of the Pennsylvania National Guard bequeathed funds for a memorial to Revolutionary War heroes. Though it took decades to raise additional money, six sculptures were eventually installed northwest of the Art Museum.
Immortalized in bronze, the Marquis de Lafayette gestures flamboyantly as his cape billows around him. Another European volunteer, Major General Friedrich von Steuben, points steadfastly ahead. General Richard Montgomery, who died in the assault on Quebec, stands pensively with hat in hand. Maritime hero John Paul Jones is shown with his telescope, while General Casimir Pulaski poses fiercely with sword at the ready. Unusual for this group, the sculpture of General Nathanael Greene emphasizes nonmilitary aspects of the man’s character.
Marquis de Lafayette (c. 1947) by Raoul Josset Major
General Friedrich von Steuben (c. 1947) by Warren Wheelock
General Richard Montgomery (c. 1946) by J. Wallace Kelly
John Paul Jones (c. 1957) by Walker Hancock
General Casimir Pulaski (c. 1947) by Sidney Waugh
General Nathanael Greene (c. 1960) by Lewis Iselin Jr.
SOURCE
The following comes from the Fairmount Park site:
In his will of 1890 General William M. Reilly of the Pennsylvania National Guard established a trust fund for the purpose of creating monuments to Revolutionary War heroes. The earnings were to accumulate until the fund became large enough for the memorial to be realized. In 1938, when the fund reached the necessary level, the trustees set the project in motion, and four bronze statues were installed by 1947. Although Reilly had requested a site near Independence Hall, the larger-than-life figures were placed instead in the terrace northwest of the Art Museum. C. Louis Borie, Jr., one of the architects of the museum itself, designed the granite bases.
As specified in the will, these first four sculptures commemorated Montgomery, Pulaski, von Steuben, and Lafayette, volunteers from other lands who "threw themselves into the cause of emancipating the colonies from the yoke of British tyranny." In addition to honoring their achievements, General Reilly wrote, the memorial would express "appreciation and gratitude to the lands which gave these liberty-loving men their birth."
By the terms of the will, funds remaining after the erection of the four original monuments were to be applied to other statues of Revolutionary heroes. Accordingly the trustees commissioned bronze figures of John Paul Jones and Nathanael Greene, which were installed in 1957 and 1961, respectively. The six sculptures are arranged in two facing rows.
Adapted from Public Art in Philadelphia by Penny Balkin Bach (Temple University Press, Philadelphia, 1992). SOURCE
Here is how to navigate to the Philly sponsored page for this tourist attraction:
1. Go to the official Philadelphia attraction page HERE.
2. Hover over the Things to Do tab at the top and when the menu open up click on Museums & Attractions (1st hot link down) which will bring you HERE.
3. On the left the sixth link down reads View All Museums & Attractions. Click it. That will take you HERE. Scroll to the bottom and navigate to page 36, the last and final page of the official tourist attractions for Philadelphia.
4. The William M. Reilly Memorial is the first link on this page. Click the link and that will take you to the officially sponsored link and your final destination, which is HERE.
Address
320 ARCH STREET
PHILADELPHIA, PA 19106
(215) 627-2667