Illinois State Capitol Sculptures: A Walking Tour

              Sundial
The bronze sundial was donated by the Daughters of
Union Veterans of the Civil War (DUVCW) and
dedicated to the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) on
Sept. 8, 1940. The U.S. Marine Band played for the
more than 500 in attendance. The ceremony was held
in conjunction with the DUVCW’s 50th annual national
convention and the 74th GAR Encampment.
Stephen A. Douglas
The “Little Giant’s” statue was funded through the
same 1913 appropriation as the Lincoln statue and
produced for about $25,000. Dedication of the statue
of Lincoln’s Democrat rival was on Oct. 5, 1918.
Douglas’ great-granddaughter placed a wreath at the
foot of the statue in its original location just north of the
Lincoln statue. The statue was moved in 1935 to its
present location. Engraved on the base of the statue is
Douglas’ dying message to his children, “…to obey the
laws and support the Constitution of the United States.”
Sculptor: Gilbert P. Riswold, 1918
Pierre Menard
The 8-ft. bronze statue of Illinois’ first Lt. Governor was
the first to be placed on the Capitol lawn on May 28,
1886. A French-Canadian, Menard is depicted trading
with a Native American along the Mississippi River. The
fox skin and calumet pipe symbolize the peaceful
commerce Menard fostered between the Indian and
white communities. Charles Chouteau, the son of
Menard’s former business partner, donated about
$10,000 for the statue and 10-ft. granite base. The
statue was dedicated on Jan. 10, 1888, and moved to
its current location in 1918 to make room for the
Douglas statue.
Sculptor: John H. Mahoney, 1886
Everett McKinley Dirksen
This 11-ft. bronze statue was commissioned by the
Dirksen Memorial Commission and financed by the
State of Illinois. Dirksen served Illinois for 34 years as
a Republican Congressman and U.S. Senator. An
elephant, donkey and oil can flank his figure,
symbolizing his persuasive skills to get both Republicans
and Democrats to cooperate and enact vital legislation.
Dedicated on Sept. 16, 1976, six years after his death,
the monument also contains a cluster of marigolds,
which Dirksen hoped would be named the national
flower.
Sculptor: Carl Tolpo, 1975
Richard Yates
“The wounded soldier’s friend” is inscribed on the 9-ft.
granite base of the statue of former Illinois Gov. and
Sen. Richard Yates. The 8-ft. bronze statue was paid for
by the State of Illinois. During a joint dedication
ceremony for the Yates and John M. Palmer statues on
Oct. 16, 1923, Yates’ son, Richard, a former Governor
himself, spoke about his father, whose most brilliant
service was during the four tumultuous years of the
Civil War. Many Civil War veterans attended the
ceremony.
Sculptor: Albin Polasek, 1921
John M. Palmer
John M. Palmer began his political career as a
Democrat but became an outspoken critic against
slavery and helped create the Republican Party in
1856. After serving as a general in the Civil War and
military governor of Kentucky, he was elected
Republican Governor of Illinois in 1868. On March
11, 1891, on the 154th ballot, the General Assembly
elected Palmer a Democrat U.S. Senator. Among those
in attendance at the Oct. 16, 1923, dedication of the
statue was Palmer’s daughter, State Historian Mrs.
Jessie Palmer Weber.
Sculptor: Leonard Crunelle, 1923
Illinois Firefighter Memorial
The Capitol’s newest memorial was dedicated on May
13, 1999, “to the firefighters of Illinois who have given
their lives in the line of duty and to those who
heroically serve with courage, pride and honor.” The
memorial of four life-size, bronze firefighters and a
rescued child on a 14-ft.-tall stone cairn is surrounded
by 2,400 red paver bricks and enclosed by a 2-ft. wall.
It was built through public contributions and the sale of
Firefighter Memorial license plates. A ceremony is held
at the memorial each May honoring Illinois Fallen
Firefighter Memorial Day.
Sculptor: Neil Brodin, 1999
Illinois Police Officers Memorial
This memorial, with its life-size bronze figures of a male
and a female police officer, was dedicated on Oct. 29,
1990, in memory of Illinois police officers killed in the
line of duty. The 13-ft. monument has a pedestal and
base of red granite and was paid for with $85,000 in
public donations. Each May, on National Police
Officers Memorial Day, a ceremony is held to honor
officers recently killed in the line of duty. Their names
are added to the original 643 officers engraved on the
surrounding polished black granite slates.
Sculptor: Keith Knoblock, 1990
Illinois Workers Memorial
Paid for by donations from union members, this 3,000-
lb. memorial “is dedicated to the memory of the
thousands of Illinois workers killed and injured on the
job.” The bronze sculpture of three workers on top of a
polished granite base was dedicated on April 28,
1992, with about 800 people in attendance. Illinois
AFL-CIO President Richard Walsh and Chicago
Federation of Labor President Robert Healey moderated
the ceremony, with national AFL-CIO President Lane
Kirkland giving the keynote speech.
Sculptor: Peter Fagan, 1992
The Coal Miner
At the urging of Vachel Davis, a Southern Illinois coal
miner, poet and artist, then state Rep. Paul Powell
introduced a bill to appropriate $15,000 for the
creation of a monument honoring the Illinois coal
miner. Davis worked with Tinley Park sculptor John
Szaton to transform Davis’ famous painting into a 7-ft.
bronze statue. About 200 people attended the
dedication ceremony on Oct. 16, 1964. The plaque
identifying the sculptor and dedication date was added
on Dec. 7, 1981.
Sculptor: John Szaton, 1964
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
This 300-lb. bronze statue of a 26-year-old Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr., cost $25,000 and was first unveiled in
the Capitol rotunda on Jan. 14, 1988. King is the first
non-Illinois resident to be honored with a statue. Then
Secretary of State Jim Edgar said King “merits this
special recognition for his contributions to Illinoisans of
all colors and creeds.” The statue remained in the
Capitol for one year before being moved to outside of
the Illinois State Museum in 1989. In May 1993, the
statue was moved to its current location at “Freedom
Corner,” facing the Abraham Lincoln statue, and was
rededicated on Sept. 18, 1993.
Sculptor: Geraldine McCullough, 1988
Abraham Lincoln
In 1913, the Illinois State Art Commission was
authorized to secure a new statue of Abraham Lincoln
for Illinois’ centennial. The 10-ft., 6-in. bronze statue
and large granite base and backdrop, engraved with
Lincoln’s “Farewell to Springfield” speech, cost about
$50,000. The statue was dedicated on Oct. 5, 1918,
the centennial of the first meeting of the Illinois General
Assembly. Lincoln biographer Lord Charnwood (William
Arthur Smith Benson) gave the keynote address, and
Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay recited his poem, “When
Lincoln Walks at Midnight in Springfield.”
Sculptor: Andrew O’Connor, 1918
Liberty Bell
In 1950, to promote the sale of U.S. Savings Bonds, 54
replicas of the Liberty Bell were cast in Annecy le Vieux,
France, and distributed to the states by the U.S.
Treasury Department. Abandoned at the Illinois State
Fairgrounds for 25 years, the 2,000-lb. bell was
resurrected in 1976 and toured every county as part of
the Secretary of State’s Illinois bicentennial exhibit. The
bronze reproduction, which has the same cast
inscription as the original bell in Philadelphia and the
famous crack hand-painted, was moved to the Capitol
grounds on April 28, 1977.
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Illinois State Capitol
AWalking Tour
Begin your tour at the Sundial at the north entrance
of the Capitol and work your way clockwise.