President Donald Trump added a 13-foot Christopher Columbus statue to the White House grounds over the weekend but in the controversial explorer’s largest namesake city, his statue remains in storage.
In October, Trump proclaimed ahead of Columbus Day that Columbus was “the original American hero” and criticized what he called a campaign to erase history.
It’s been nearly six years since the city of Columbus removed its 22-foot statue from in front of City Hall in the summer of 2020 and seven months since a city-tapped group released recommendations on how to display the statue again based on community feedback. Still, Mayor Andrew Ginther doesn’t appear eager to bring the statue back yet.
“I think we’re still studying it, making sure we’re hearing from everybody in the community,” Ginther told The Dispatch on March 23. “We want to make sure that whatever we do is historically accurate and inclusive and taking into account everybody’s feelings in the community and their feedback.”
Reimagining Columbus, a team funded by a $2-million grant from the Mellon Foundation’s Monuments Project, spent about two years hosting dozens of community events. Hundreds of people attended or submitted feedback, according to Reimagining Columbus.
Asked if that was enough input to make a decision, Ginther said, “I don’t think community input is ever done.”
Reimagining Columbus proposed displaying the statue in a new, centrally located park along the Scioto River where the statue would not be the focal point. The group recommended the statue of the Italian explorer should be displayed next to text and artwork that tell the history of Christopher Columbus, including the controversial parts of his legacy involving his treatment of Indigenous people.
Deliberately, the group also recommended displaying the statue so visitors could choose to view the state from the ground looking up at him or from higher ground to look the statue in the eyes.
There’s no specific location or dollar figure in the proposal. The group did not make recommendations about how the community would fund such a park.
Government and politics reporter Jordan Laird can be reached at jlaird@dispatch.com. Follow her on X, Instagram and Bluesky at @LairdWrites.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: White House adds Columbus statue as city’s remains in limbo
Reporting by Jordan Laird, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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