East end of Washington Ave. at Lake Shore Dr. | Property Record | Wisconsin Historical Society

Property Record

East end of Washington Ave. at Lake Shore Dr.

Architecture and History Inventory
East end of Washington Ave. at Lake Shore Dr. | Property Record | Wisconsin Historical Society
NAMES
Historic Name:Carl Schurz Monument
Other Name:Carl Schurz Monument
Contributing:
Reference Number:70588
PROPERTY LOCATION
Location (Address):East end of Washington Ave. at Lake Shore Dr.
County:Winnebago
City:Oshkosh
Township/Village:
Unincorporated Community:
Town:
Range:
Direction:
Section:
Quarter Section:
Quarter/Quarter Section:
PROPERTY FEATURES
Year Built:1914
Additions:
Survey Date:19812024
Historic Use:statue/sculpture
Architectural Style:NA (unknown or not a building)
Structural System:
Wall Material:
Architect: Karl Bitter
Other Buildings On Site:
Demolished?:No
Demolished Date:
NATIONAL AND STATE REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
National/State Register Listing Name:Not listed
National Register Listing Date:
State Register Listing Date:
NOTES
Additional Information:This statue of Carl Schurz was purchased by Col. John Hicks for the city of Oshkosh in 1914. It duplicates a statue Bitter sculpted for New York City - but lacks the elaborate architectural setting of that work. May 2024: Erected in 1914 and designed by sculptor Karl Bitter, the Carl Schurz Monument consists of a larger than life-size bronze statue of Carl Schurz atop a squared, pink granite base; the façade of the base is inscribed “OUR GREATEST GERMAN AMERICAN / CARL SCHURZ” with smaller text along the lower portion of the base reading “Presented to the City of Oshkosh / By John Hicks 1914.” The monument sits at the center of a circular concrete walkway and is a more modest copy of Bitter’s original monument to Carl Schurz located near Columbia University in Manhattan. Schurz was a prominent German-American politician and attorney who lived for a time in both Watertown and Milwaukee.
Bibliographic References:(A) Plaque inscription. (B) Public Monuments, Parks and Art Gifts Given the City of Oshkosh. Oshkosh, The Daily Northwestern 1919.
RECORD LOCATION
Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin

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