Grant Park in Chicago in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Christopher Columbus
Alanscottwalker (public domain, via Wikimedia Commons), circa 2011
1. Christopher Columbus statue in Grant Park
The statue was removed in July 2020 after protesters attempted to pull it down. The city has said it will not return to Grant Park, but it has not determined the statue's long-term fate.
[Inscription on the shaft holding up the statue:]
To Christopher Columbus
Discoverer of America
[Text on the pedestal's east side:]
By the grace of God and in the name of Her Majesty Queen Isabella has taken possession of this land
October 12 1492
[Text on the pedestal's north side:]
Dedicated at the Chicago Century of Progress Exposition. Columbus symbolizes the enduring mutual respect and understanding between Italy and the United States
[Text on the pedestal's west side:]
From last will of Columbus
"Siendo yo nacido in Genova"
"As a native of Genoa"
[Text on the pedestal's south side:]
Erected by the Italian Americans of Illinois under the auspices of the Columbus Monument Committe
[Text on the pedestal's southeast side:]
This monument has seen the glory of the wings of Italy led by Italo Balbo
July 15 1933
Erected 1933 by Italian Americans of Illinois.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Exploration • Immigration • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical date for this entry is October 12, 1492.
Location. Marker has been reported permanently removed. It was located near 41° 52.077′ N,
this page online
We have been informed that this marker is no longer there and will not be replaced. This page is an archival view of what was.
Regionally, this marker was in the American Midwest. Globally, it was in North America, on the Great Lakes, in the Western Hemisphere, in the Western World, and in the Anglosphere. Historically, it found itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, and the Northwest Territory.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this location: Central Station Fragments (approx. 0.2 miles away); The Blues Trail: Mississippi to Chicago (approx. 0.2 miles away); Original Peoples Homeland (approx. 0.2 miles away); Olmec Head #8 (approx. ¼ mile away); Aaron Montgomery Ward Gardens (approx. ¼ mile away); Tribute to Freedom and Water Wall
Courtesy of the Chicago Park District, circa 2012
2. Christopher Columbus statue in Grant Park
More about this marker. The statue was unveiled before an estimated crowd of 25,000 people on August 3, 1933 during the Century of Progress World's Fair held in Chicago. Designed by Milan-born sculptor Carlo Brioschi, the statue was donated by Chicagoans of Italian descent and dedicated during the Fair's Italian Day, when it was blessed by Bernard J. Shiel, an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Chicago.
The statue remained in place for almost 87 years, until the very early morning of July 24, 2020, when the City of Chicago removed it and placed it into storage, in the wake of more than a month of protests following the murder of George Floyd that culminated in an unsuccessful attempt by protesters to pull the statue down.
While the city's website still officially lists the Columbus statue as having been "temporarily removed," according to 2025 news reports the city has determined that the statue will not be returned to Grant Park. The empty plinth that
Courtesy of the Grant Schmalgemeier Century of Progress Collection, Newberry Library, circa 1933
3. Christopher Columbus statue at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair
Two other statues of Columbus in Chicago faced similar outcomes. An 1893 statue of Columbus, apparently created for the World's Columbian Exposition that year, was removed in the summer of 2020 from Arrigo Park in Little Italy on the city's near west side, where it had been displayed since the mid-1960s. In 2025, the city announced that that statue would be loaned to an Italian American group, which plans to display it in a new museum in Little Italy. Another Columbus statue on the city's far south side, dating to around 1920, was also taken down that year; the city says it has no plans to re-display it.
That said, two other Italy-related artifacts related to the Century of Progress do remain today in Chicago, not far from where the Columbus statue had stood. One is Balbo Drive, the old 7th Street that was renamed in honor of Italo Balbo, the Italian airman whose 1933 transatlantic flight to Chicago was part of Italy's celebrations during the Century of Progress. It has stuck
Alanscottwalker (public domain, via Wikimedia Commons), circa 2011
4. Columbus statue
The other is the Balbo Monument, which sits in a grove just east of Soldier Field, where it was dedicated in 1934 by Benito Mussolini in honor of Balbo's journey. The monument features a 2,000-year-old column from the ruins of Ostia Antica outside Rome, and its base includes an explicit celebration of Mussolini's Fascism. Despite periodic protests and calls for removal, it remains in place today.
Also see . . .
1. Columbus Statue’s Turbulent History Included State Funds, Design Feuds, Mussolini Message. A July 2020 article in Block Club Chicago, written the day the statue was removed by the City of Chicago, looks at the colorful history of the Columbus statue in Grant Park, which was dedicated to much fanfare (and controversy) in 1933. (Submitted on September 10, 2026, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)
2. Columbus Statue Will Not Return to Grant Park, Officials Announce. From WTTW, Chicago's public television station, a 2025 update
By James Conkis (CC BY-SA 4.0), July 25, 2020
5. The plinth after the statue's removal
Visible is the base's sculpting of a man holding fasces — bundles of rods holding an axe, which were used by Benito Mussolini as symbols of his Fascist movement in Italy.
Credits. This page was last revised on September 22, 2026. It was originally submitted on September 10, 2026, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 11 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on September 10, 2026, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. 3, 4, 5. submitted on September 11, 2026, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.
