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The Statues at the Square
The four bronze statues at the square were a gift to the City of Charlotte by the Queens Table, a private philanthropic group, most of whose members choose to remain anonymous. Washington sculptor Raymond Kaskey, who also sculpted the statue of Queen Charlotte at the Charlotte/Douglas International Airport, created the statues. The four figures are: CommerceThe gold miner representing commerce includes a secondary figure in a suit representing banking. The necktie, lapels and scrollwork that derive from dollar bills, function as heraldic devices associated with financial and business success. IndustryA woman mill worker with attributes and emblems documenting the family-labor system represents industry. The spindle, roller, cotton warping, hydroelectric bolts and child laborer contribute to produce a classical emblem of the textile industry. TransportationAn African American man focuses on the builders of the transportation infrastructure. Clasped hands representing railroad coupling and emblematic devices inspired by locomotive 1301 “Charlotte” depict transportation. A second element picturing an eagle’s face with feathers encircling its back represents our present day transportation by air. FutureAs the focal point of the four-cornered composition, a mother and child represent the future. The mother figure emerges from a bower of branches, leaves and flowers of the dogwood, which is the state flower of North Carolina. Stretched between the branches is the hornet’s nest to make it more specific to Charlotte. The figures of Commerce, Industry and Transportation were selected as being representative of Charlotte’s past. The first three figures are all looking toward the fourth figure, The Future. Each of the statues weights about 5,000 pounds, is attached to a granite base, and is about 25 feet tall, including the base. The cost of the four statues was about $500,000 They were erected in November 1995 and were dedicated in a ceremony at noon on November 27, 1995. Sources: Raymond Kaskey; The Charlotte Observer Related LinksHistorical TimelineThe Statues at the Square
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