4. The Story Behind Fort Greene Park’s Urn

The urn that sits on top of the Prison Ship Martyrs Monument is 22.5 feet tall and weighs seven and a half tons, but not that many people have not taken a closer look at it.

The design was made by the sculptor Adolph Alexander Weinman, a German immigrant, and it was fabricated at the Whale Creek Iron Works Greenpoint, Brooklyn out of copper. It is topped by a glazed lid. The urn was only decorative and never functioned at any point of its inception. He also designed the four eagles the surround the plaza.

Weinman made his mark in other places in New York City as well, and designed the sculptures Day and Night that surrounded the clock at the original Pennsylvania Station and the sculptures at New York City’s Municipal Building.

Learn about Weinman on our popular Remnants of Penn Station tour, which will return for the anniversary of the demolition of Penn Station this October:

Tour of the Remnants of Penn Station