Hariet Tubman Untapped Cities AFineLyneHarriet Tubman Monument

This year’s theme for National Women’s History Month is “Working to Form a More Perfect Union: Honoring Women in Public Service and Government.” As we consider the service of women, here are 9 accomplishments, remembrances, readings, performances, exhibits and monuments to learn about, see and consider.

1. Visiting Monuments to Women Around New York City

The monument to Gertrude Stein (above and below) can be seen on the upper terrace of Bryant Park, 40th/42nd Streets and Fifth Avenue to Avenue of the Americas. Ms. Stein gained fame as a novelist, poet and playwright. She moved to Paris in 1903, where she remained for the rest of her life.

The Eleanor Roosevelt Monument honors the humanitarian and First Lady. It is said to be the first monument to an American President’s wife, and was dedicated in 1996. The monument is located at 72nd Street on Riverside Drive.

The Harriet Tubman Monument was dedicated in 2008 as part of the Department of Cultural Affairs Percent for Art program. It commemorates her fight against slavery, risking her own freedom making thirteen missions to rescue more than seventy enslaved families and friends, using safe houses known as the Underground Railroad. Located on West 122nd Street, at the intersection of St. Nicholas and Frederick Douglass Boulevard, it is still a question why she faces south.

The Joan of Arc Monument, located at 93rd Street and Riverside Drive, was part of an Adopt-a-Monument program in 1987 – a joint partnership between the Municipal Art Society (MAS), the Department of Parks & Recreation, and the Art Commission of the City of New York. 

Golda Meir was an Israeli teacher, stateswoman and the fourth Prime Minister of Israel. A bust was commissioned by the Jewish Community Relations Council of NYC (JCRC), and the City of New York, where it was on view at Golda Meir Memorial Square between 39th/40th Streets on Broadway since 1984. We passed by the plaza recently and noticed it was gone. Perhaps a reader can fill us in.