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State House

Christopher Columbus at State House

Alphons Pelzer
W. H. Mullins Company
1892

Description

Full figure portrait of Christopher Columbus standing with his right leg forward and his head bent down, looking at the globe in his left hand. His right arm is bent slightly and reaching forward. Next to him is a rectangular pedestal on which a sphere sits. Water cascades down each side of the base's front.

Inscription(s)

Sculpture's base:

West side	East side	North side	South side
Christopher Columbus, an Italian navigator, launched four voyages of discovery to the new world.	Donated by the Josephinum to the State of Ohio. This statue was relocated to Capitol Square.	The fountain honors Ohio's sister state bond with Liguria, Italy, the navigator's home.	The Pontifical College Josephinum commissioned this statue from the W. H. Mullins studio.

Fountain:

West side	South side	East side	North side
1492 the spirit of discovery has the power to change the course of human history as demonstrated by the voyages of Christopher Columbus whose imagination shattered the boundaries of the western world Modern history has been shaped by one man's courage to pursue a dream.	1892 A dream shared by later generations who explored a vast continent where freedom and opportunity beckoned to those with the courage and immagination to venture westward.	1932 Westward into Ohio came the successors to the spirit of Columbus, naming the capitol city of the new state after the man who symbolized the spirit of the frontier…	1992 Frontiers explored by later generations of Ohioans extend beyond land and water to a new world whose potential remains to be unlocked by the spirit of discovery.

Annotation

The statue was commissioned by The Pontifical College Josephinum in honor of the 400th anniversary of Columbus's voyage. It was purchased by Mssgr. Jessing in 1892 for $400 or $500. The sculpture was originally located at Pontificial College Josephinum, on 18th Street between Mound and Main Streets, in Columbus between 1892-1932. It was presented to the State in 1932

Christopher Columbus Discovery Plaza.
Located along the south side of the Statehouse, this 1892 statue by Alphons Pelzer was commissioned by Monsignor Joseph Jessing for display at the Pontifical College Josephinum courtyard (at 821 E. Main Street). It was moved to the Statehouse in 1932, a gift to the State when the Josephinum moved to Worthington.

The statue is similar to those in Peoria, Ill., and Phillipsburg, N.J.