Police investigating who sprayed red paint on iconic bronze statue in Columbus Square

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The police are investigating after a statue of Christopher Columbus was splashed with red paint Monday, on the day commemorating his arrival in the Americas in 1492.



The bronze statue, at Elmwood and Reservoir avenues in what is known as Columbus Square, depicts Columbus standing on a platform and pointing. On Monday afternoon drips of red paint ran down the statue’s shoulder onto its torso.



Emily Crowell, a spokeswoman for the mayor’s office, said officers were “made aware of the vandalism” on Monday morning. The mayor’s office said the Department of Public Property is working to remove the “graffiti,” she said. Crowell said she would not know how much the city will spend to clean the statue until the task is complete.



The act of vandalism comes as at least 55 cities and municipalities across the country have moved to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples’ day. Advocates and Native American groups say the national holiday unnecessarily honors a man who promoted the trans-Atlantic slave trade, and was responsible for the slaughtering of millions of indigenous people, according to USA Today.



Police in cities across the United States including Chicago, New York City and New Haven responded to acts of vandalism Monday. Some included splashing red paint, similar to the Providence incident.



In 2016, faculty at Brown University voted to designate the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples’ Day, following cities such as Los Angeles, Seattle, Denver, Portland, Oregon, and Austin, Texas.



The statue was cast in 1893 by the Gorham Manufacturing Co. and gifted to the City of Providence, according to the Secretary of State’s office. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.

— jtempera@providencejournal.com

(401) 277-7121

On Twitter: @jacktemp



