Boxes Covering Christopher Columbus Statue in Philadelphia Removed Following Judge’s Order

The boxes covering the Christopher Columbus statue in Philadelphia have been removed after a state judge ordered city officials to remove them.

Crews removed the boxes at around 8:00 p.m. Sunday, as a group of the city’s Italian-American community gathered to celebrate the uncovering of the famous explorer, who is viewed as a symbol of Italian heritage.

Full Christopher Columbus statue along S. Broad Street is now revealed. Crews just finished removing the plywood box— the process took about 2 hours. @6abc pic.twitter.com/ifS3bnjKOq

— Sharifa Jackson 6abc (@SharifaJackson) December 12, 2022

George Bochetto, an attorney representing a group of the statue’s supporters, told WPVI that he was “delighted” by the removal of the boxes. He further stated that “the rule of law matters.”

“[W]e are not a society ruled by cancel culture mobs,” Bochetto said, adding that “all ethnic groups can proudly protect and honor their diverse heritages.”

The 146-year-old statue was boxed up by the city during the Black Lives Matter riots in the summer of 2020 following the death of George Floyd. Opponents of the Italian explorer’s statue viewed it as a symbol of white supremacy.

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney (D) had ordered the statue to be removed, stating that it was a matter of public safety. However, a judge last year blocked Kenney’s move, saying the city had not provided evidence that the statue posed a threat to public safety, the Associated Press reported.

In her ruling on Friday, State Judge Mary Hannah Leavitt told Philadelphia officials that if they disagreed with the “message” of the Columbus statue, the city could display its own plaque of the reasons why they object to it.

“More to the point, the City accepted the donation of the Columbus statue in 1876. It has a fiduciary duty to preserve that statue, which it designated an historic object in 2017. The Columbus statue is not City property as is, for example, a City snowblower,” Leavitt further wrote via the AP.

A spokesperson from Kenney’s office stated they were disappointed by the judge’s ruling but that it would respect the decision.

Prior to Columbus Day this year, the boxes covering the statue at the time were painted with the Italian tricolors–red, white, and blue–at the request of Councilmember Mark Squilla, who represents the district.

The statue was built in 1876 to commemorate the nation’s centennial anniversary. The monument stands at Marconi Plaza on the 2848 block of South Broad Street.

You can follow Ethan Letkeman on Twitter at @EthanLetkeman.