The Erased Monument
The most striking thing about monuments is that you don’t notice them. There is nothing in the world that is as invisible as monuments.
Robert Musil, Posthumous Papers of a Living Author
Lee Friedlander’s now classic The American Monument contains 213 photographs of monuments throughout America. Using Google’s Street View, I visited the monuments Friedlander photographed and copied them from their inventory. Even if you notice them, Google made sure that you wouldn’t recognize them.
1. Liberty, with French, Indian, Highlander and Green Mountain Soldiers. Ticonderoga, New York
2. Commodore John Paul Jones. West Potomac Park, Washington, D.C.
4. Father Duffy. Times Square, New York, New York
5. Frank Luke, Jr. Capitol Grounds, Phoenix, Arizona
8. Spanish-American War. Yonkers, New York
11. Merchandise Mart Hall of Fame. Chicago, Illinois
28. The Volunteer. Elizabeth, New Jersey
48. The Madonna of the Trail. Bethesda, Maryland
51. Newsboy, from The Otis Memorial. MacArthur Park, Los Angeles, California
53. Edward Everett Hale. Boston Common, Boston, Massachusetts
55. Bennington Battle Monument and Seth Warner Statue. Bennington, Vermont
64. General Andrew Jackson. Jackson Square, New Orleans, Louisiana
102. W. C. Handy. Memphis, Tennessee
107. Columbus. Central Park, New York, New York
110. Elias Howe, Jr. Bridgeport, Connecticut
119. Mary Dyer. Boston, Massachusetts
125. The Indian and the Puritan. Newark, New Jersey
127. Iwo Jima Memorial. Arlington, Virginia
128. General George Patton. West Point, New York
181. Father William Corby. Gettysburg National Military Park
198. Our Lady, Star of the Sea. Morgan City, Louisiana
202. George M. Cohan. Times Square, New York, New York