Indian Columbus

In the shadow of Manhattan’s towering skyline and the ever-rushing pulse of city life, a quiet monument stands tucked within Madison Square Park. It's a bronze figure few stop to identify, though it honors one of America's Presidents, Chester Alan Arthur, the 21st President of the United States. Sculpted by George Edwin Bissell and unveiled in 1899, this statue is a dignified, though often overlooked, tribute to a man whose presidency brought unexpected reform and restraint. The statue presents Arthur standing tall in formal attire, his posture calm and composed, one hand resting confidently at his side and the other clutching the lapel of his overcoat. The facial expression is solemn, with a touch of detachment, capturing the man who unexpectedly rose to the nation’s highest office and steered it with quiet steadiness. Chester A. Arthur Statue Arthur’s rise to the presidency was anything but conventional. A native of Vermont and a New York lawyer, he had built his political ...