Christopher Columbus once sailed the ocean blue, but he’s having a tough time of it these days in the City of Brotherly Love. A statue of the explorer who in 1492 came ashore at Hispaniola en route to India is the site of controversy. What to do with the Genoan sailor’s likeness? 

Just off Broad Street at South Philadelphia, the statue in question stands at Marconi Plaza, so named in 1937 to honor another Italian, the inventor of the radio. The statue was created in 1876, and moved to its current location a century later. The neighborhood in which it sits has long been a center of Italian-American life.

The statue bears one inscription “in commemoration of the First Century of American Independence” and another marking the “Anniversary of the Landing of Columbus, October 13, 1492.” It is built of marble hewn in Italy, features the Genoan coat of arms, and stands 22 feet high. 

South Philadelphia was where the hoagie and cheesesteak — culinary staples — were invented, and it was the site of the first Catholic parish in America. The Italian market, which runs along 9th Street, boasts that it is the world’s “oldest and continuously operating outdoor market.” 

Those seeking a rendezvous with Signor Columbus are likely to be disappointed, as his likeness is covered by a plywood box painted in the colors of the Italian flag. As City Journal reports, that dates to the summer of 2020, but the box is now set to be removed. 

In August 2020, two city bodies, the Philadelphia Art Commission and the Philadelphia Historical Commission, endorsed moving the statue to a yet to be determined location. The Art Commission voted 8-0 on that score, arguing that such a move is necessary  to “advance public safety and to protect the statue.”    

That attempt to shunt it to temporary storage and eventually another location was stayed by a judge of the Court of Common Pleas. An attorney for the South Philadelphians fighting to keep the statue, George Bochetto, called that decision a “victory for civilized society.”   

Another ruling — from a Pennsylvania Commonwealth appellate court judge, Mary Hannah Leavitt — confirmed that holding. Judge Leavitt ruled if the city objected to the “message” sent by the statue, it could append a plaque “more in line with the message the city wishes to convey.”

The judge reminded the city that it “accepted the donation of the Columbus statue in 1876” and has a “fiduciary duty to preserve that statue, which it designated an historic object in 2017.” A “fiduciary duty” implies a duty to act for the benefit of another — in this case, to the citizens of Philadelphia.

Judge Leavitt went on to explain that the “Columbus statue is not City property as is, for example, a City snowblower.” She reminded the city that whether it agrees with the “‘message’ is simply irrelevant.” Mr. Bochetto told the Philadelphia Inquirer that the ruling is “significant for every ethnic group in this country.”

That note of satisfaction was seconded by the president of the Friends of Marconi Plaza, Richard Cedrone. Mr. Cedrone, who has lent his efforts to keep the statue in situ, said of the decision: “This is America, and that’s the way you do things.” 

Philadelphia’s mayor, James “Jim” Kenney, is striking a defiant note. In a statement, his office explains that Columbus  “has been a source of controversy” and expressed the wish that the statute be removed from the plaza entirely. No word yet on whether the city will pursue that goal via appeal. 

A spokesman for the city, Kevin Lessard, said that Mr. Kenney is “very disappointed” in the court’s ruling and would be “working to comply with the court’s orders, including unboxing.” Metro Philadelphia reports that at last year’s Columbus Day Parade, a sign was seen leaning against the boxed statue; it read, “Free Chris.”