Mary Cahalan statue
The Mary Cahalan statue is an 11-foot-tall marble monument to former Powell School teacher and principal Mary Cahalan located in the southeast quarter of Linn Park, just outside the entrance to the Linn-Henley Research Library.
When Cahalan died in 1906, there was an immediate public movement to erect a statue in her honor. The subject's measurements were taken after her death by Edna Smith. The statue was carved from a single block of bluish-white Talladega marble by sculptor Giuseppe Moretti, assisted by Geneva Mercer. It was dedicated in 1908. The statue depicts Cahalan seated and reading a book. The base is inscribed "Mary A. Cahalan, Teacher" on the front, and "Erected by the People of Birmingham" on the back.
In March 1950 one of the statue's arms was removed and carried off by vandals. The Birmingham Park and Recreation Board arranged for a repair.
In 1980 the National Geodetic Survey embedded a steel rod benchmark northwest of the statue, using it a reference point. The benchmark is located at 33°31'13" N by -86°48'30" W at an altitude of 614.52 feet above mean sea level. (locate)
In 2006 the Friends of Linn Park hired sculptor Dale Chambliss to restore and conserve the statue, which was suffering from soil, frost damage, and a broken nose. A video documentary, produced by Tom MacKnight is chronicling the restoration process, including in-depth backstory on Cahalan, Moretti and Alabama's marble industry written by Russell Hubbard. It was scheduled for release in September 2007.
The statue is featured in Jay Taylor's parody The Moretti Code.
References
- "From Where I Stand" (March 1950) Birmingham News via Birmingham Rewound
- Hubbard, Russell (September 25, 2006) "After years of neglect, Linn Park statue gets facelift." Birmingham News.
- Jordan, Phillip (March 24, 2005) "Moretti's assistant: Alabama's own Geneva Mercer." Birmingham Weekly.
.jpg){kind=link}
External links
- Dale Chambliss – The Mary Cahalan Statue Restoration video documentary website