Lee Circle
Lee Circle is a traffic circle with a monument to Confederate General, Robert E. Lee, in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is located on St. Charles Avenue, where it intersects Howard Avenue. Prior to the erection of the monument in 1884, the location was known as Tivoli Circle or Place du Tivoli.[1][2] [3] Tivoli Circle was an important, central point in the city, as it linked upriver areas with downriver areas. It was a common local meeting point and the site remains a popular place to gather for Mardi Gras parades. With the addition of the Robert E. Lee Monument, it was renamed Lee Circle.
The bronze statue which tops the Doric column was sculpted by Alexander Doyle. The statue was first unveiled to an audience of 15,000 people — including former Confederate President Jefferson Davis, two daughters of General Lee, and Confederate General Pierre G.T. Beauregard — on February 22, 1884 (George Washington's bithday).[4][5]
Renaming Controversies
On July 31, 1877, "Lee Place" within "Tivoli Circle" was authorized by Ordinance A.S. 4064[6][7] Although the traffic circle is commonly referred to as "Lee Circle", this ordinance makes clear that the "enclosure" containing the statue is to be known as "Lee Place", while the circle is to continue to be known as "Tivoli Circle". This ordinance contains no reference to the name "Lee Circle".
On June 24, 2015, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu acknowledged the impact of the June 2015 Charleston church shooting but credited a 2014 conversation with New Orleans jazz ambassador Wynton Marsalis for his decision to call for the removal of the Lee statue and renaming of Lee Circle and other city memorials to Confederate slaveholders.[8]
As part of a sixty-day period for public input, two city commissions called for the removal of four monuments associated with the Confederacy, the Lee statue, statues of Jefferson Davis and P.G.T. Beauregard, and an obelisk commemorating the "Battle of Liberty Place". Governor Bobby Jindal opposed the removals.[9]
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On December 17, 2015, the New Orleans City Council voted to remove four statues from public display, among them the statue of Robert E. Lee located in Lee Circle.[10][11] Four organizations immediately filed a lawsuit in federal court the day of the decision and the City administration has agreed that no monument removals will take place before a court hearing scheduled for January 14, 2016.[12]
References
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- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Published on the occasion of the dedication of the John Hancock Building (now known as K&B Plaza), New Orleans, LA, December 7, 1961.
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Further reading
- Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Published on the occasion of the dedication of the John Hancock Building (now known as K&B Plaza), New Orleans, LA, December 7, 1961.
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