10. The pediment on Stock Exchange is fake
The New York Stock Exchange was designed by George B. Post at the turn of the 20th century and features a pediment designed by John Quincy Adams Ward. Its title is “Integrity Protecting the Works of Man” and it depicts an allegorical figure of Integrity surrounded by workers. It was sculpted out of 90 tons of marble by the Piccirilli brothers, a renowned family of Italian marble carvers known who also sculpted the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C.
There was just one problem. In the 1930s, the marble pediment started drooping and pieces of it were at risk of falling off onto pedestrians. It was quietly decided that the heavy marble pediment should be removed and replaced by a skeleton with a copper overlay, which weights just ten tons.
Next, read about the top 10 secrets of Little Italy!
