Wednesday, May 14, 2008

John Thomas

One thing I like about Nashville is that one finds statues honoring a variety of citizens or events dotting the urban landscape.  That is not the case in a number of other cities in which I've lived.

This statue of John Thomas (1830-1906) sits in Centennial Park (Note the Parthenon behind it.).  A 48-year employee of the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway, Thomas was also president of the Tennessee Centennial Exposition and was instrumental in obtaining the land on which the Exposition was held and which later became Centennial Park.  Employees of the railway erected the statue in Thomas's memory.

Two things:  First, I find it odd that the part of the statue facing the park is the backside.  It is not located at the main entrance (or any other entrance, really) to the park, so I wonder why it faces that way.  I, personally, would think the guy would want to look at the park.

Also, there is more to the display than what I've shown.  There is a stone/cement platform under the statue, and one has to climb 4-5 steps to get up to the "deck" area.  Right under the statue is a small ledge on which one can sit.

Are there many statues or monuments where you live?

7 comments:

Denton said...

Most of our statues are relatively new. They honor the founders of Greenville yet only recently did we choose to pay for the sculptures. We also have mice sculptures which are lots of fun for kids, families, and photographers.

Clueless in Boston said...

That's a great looking statue. Interesting positioning of the statue. We have quite a few statues and monuments in Boston.

smilnsigh said...

:-) Yes, you would think he'd like to be facing the park!

Nope, not huge ones, like this, for sure.

Mari-Nanci
Photos-City-Mine

Southern Heart said...

Chris, I had to giggle at your comment about the statue placement...we wondered the very same thing the last time we visited. :) It's a great photo and highlights what a good-looking statue it is.

I hope that you're feeling better! Thank you so much for checking on me. You actually have very good instincts. My blood pressure has decided to go sky-high, and now we're going through the medication-adjustment process. This week has been kind of rough (it's too low right now, which actually feels much worse), but I'm hoping to be back to my usual self very soon. :)

Thank you so much for thinking of me! xo

mrsnesbitt said...

What an interesting profile....you do sound so much like me! LOL! But I didn't let that put me off visiting!
You may be interested in my ABC Wednesday photo project....next week we are up to R...Q was quite fun!

Denise
x

Halcyon said...

Not many monuments in Jackson either, at least not that I know of.

There used to be a huge statue of Andrew Jackson downtown, but when I went to look for it for a photo it had been moved. I hope he hasn't disappeared forever!

Ming the Merciless said...

Could it be because the statue was erected before the park was set up?