One of the statues atop the cornice of the Customs House in Bowling Green is not original! The statu
One of the statues atop the cornice of the Customs House in Bowling Green is not original! The statues represent the seafaring countries including Portugal, Greece, Rome, Spain and Holland. Germany was also depicted, but during World War I, the Customs Department ordered architect Cass Gilbert to remove the statue from the building. Gilbert went the statues designer, Albert Jaegers’ a German immigrant who had came to the U.S. when he was eight and became a citizen, asking if he could change it to another country. Jaegers said he could not change the statue and keep the level of quality, and suggested storing it. Instead, Gilbert went to another prominent sculptor, Atilio Piccirilli, who accepted, drastically altering the statue to represent Belgium. Originally the German statue had a female figure with the imperial eagle of Germany, a chainmail coat, and shield inscribed “W II” for Kaiser Wilhelm II. Piccirilli stripped the chainmail, replaced the eagle with a Lion Rampant (Belgium Coat of Arms) gave the statue larger breasts, changed the helmet to match that of a Belgian soldier, and changed the inscription on the shield to BELGIUM. (at Bowling Green) https://www.instagram.com/p/CZaNFKHuEJk/?utm_medium=tumblr -- source link