Crews removed a plywood box covering a statue of Christopher Columbus in South Philadelphia Sunday night days after a ruling from a Pennsylvania judge.
Senior Judge Mary Hannah Leavitt issued her ruling Friday in response to an appeal by the City of Philadelphia over the request by the Friends of Marconi Plaza to have the box removed after the explorer became a focus amid nationwide demonstrations against racial injustice.
"We are very disappointed in the Court’s ruling," Mayor Jim Kenney spokesperson Kevin Lessard said in response to the ruling. "We continue to believe that the Christopher Columbus statue, which has been a source of controversy in Philadelphia, should be removed from its current position at Marconi Plaza. We are continuing to review the Court’s latest ruling and are working to comply with the Court’s orders, including unboxing.
"While we will respect this decision, we will also continue to explore our options for a way forward that allows Philadelphians to celebrate their heritage and culture while respecting the histories and circumstances of everyone’s different backgrounds."
Get Philly local news, weather forecasts, sports and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Philadelphia newsletters.
Attorney George Bochetto, who represents supporters of the historic statue, praised the court's decision:
“As a proud Citizen of Philadelphia, I am delighted that both Judge Patrick of the Court of Common Pleas and the Judges of the Commonwealth Court have boldly reaffirmed that the rule of law still matters," he wrote a brief statement. "That we are not a society ruled by cancel culture mobs. That all ethnic groups can proudly protect and honor their diverse heritages."
Local
Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood.
Eugene Kelly, a South Philadelphia native, traveled from his current home in New Jersey to see that statue.
"It was an insult, it was upsetting, it was a sad thing to see because it's been there for years, it's been part of our heritage down here," Eugene Kelly said. "We missed it."
In Philadelphia, a city with a deep Italian heritage, supporters say they consider Columbus an emblem of that heritage. Kenney said Columbus was venerated for centuries as an explorer but had a “much more infamous” history, enslaving Indigenous people and imposing punishments such as severing limbs or even death.
Kenney during his tenure signed an executive order changing the name of the city’s annual Columbus Day holiday to Indigenous Peoples Day.
After the unrest following the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd in 2020, Kenney characterized removing the statue as a matter of public safety. The future of the statue off South Broad Street had since remained in flux.
On Monday, Kenney spoke about the unboxing:
“When the box was put up two years ago, it was done to keep people safe," the second-term Democrat said. "There was a lot of conflict going on down there, a lot of fights, and it was seeming like it was escalating. We didn’t have the capacity at the time to remove the statue, or the legal authority, and we figured it we boxed it, we would put it out of sight, out of mind, which happened, and things calmed down. And it’s been kind of status quo ever since.
"It was removed last night, and we’ll go forward and see what happens."
Kenney promised to have police near the statue.
"We don’t want any kind of vandalism, and that’s the reason why the box went up," Kenney said. "The box went up to keep the statue safe and to keep people from each other’s throats when they were down there fighting with each other. And I think it was the best thing to do at the time. Hoping now that things have calmed down a little bit and we can go forward on the legal side without having all that consternation. But we’ll keep an eye on it and we’ll see what happens."
