Senator Bernie Sanders Calls for a Political Revolution at Washington Arch.
BySenator Bernie Sanders at the Washington Arch In NYC on April 13, 2016. MacNeil’s statue of Washington as Commander of the Continental stands to the right on the back of the Arch. [Photo: www.hultonarchive.com ]
In Washington Square Park last evening, two marble figures of “George Washington” stood quietly in the dark amid rallying cries for political revolution in the November 2016 Elections.
Hermon MacNeil’s statue of “General George Washington” and Alexander Stirling Calder’s Statue of “President Washington” have graced the back of the monument for nearly a century. They immortalize two facets of an American giant who was no stranger to either revolution or politics.
The 124-year-old marble Washington Arch framed a white-haired Bernie Sanders as the Brooklyn-born senator railed on about how politics is “fixed” for the wealthiest 1% of Americans. A reported 27,000 people packed the park on a brisk NYC evening. The event in one of the largest rallies of this campaign.
Senator Sander’s familiar stump speech rang out loud and clear as the Presidential candidate’s raspy-voice pierced the night air. The enthusiasm of “Gotham City” night-life roared from the sign-waving crowd. The event seemed to open another chapter in the life of this historic gathering place of American celebration and demonstration.
The white marble mass of the Washington Arch towers over the scene of a packed crowd filled with electric energy.
Sanders 40 years of independent politics has sounded themes of “income inequality”, “health care rights”, “Wall Street power”, and “corporate greed” to list a few. In recent months he has thundered his message to ever-widening audiences across the United States.
The rally last evening brought Sanders home to his Brooklyn roots and this historic place of American identity and protest.
Whether it brought him any closer to George Washington’s old job has yet to be determined.
This daylight view of MacNeil’s General Washington Profiled with Valor guarded the rear flanks of the Arch. The statue was added to the monument in 1917 – 1918.
“Washington as President” by Alexander Stirling Calder stands opposite the MacNeil statue. The statue was added to the monument in 1917 – 1918.
The Washington Arch BEFORE 1812 with no statues in place.
