1700 Monument Ave., jct. of Monument and Allen Aves., Richmond (Independent City), Virginia. County/parish: Richmond.
Added to the National Register of Historic Places January 05, 2007. NRIS 06001213.
Also known as:
The Robert E. Lee Monument in Richmond, Virginia, was the first installation on Monument Avenue in 1890, and would ultimately be the last Confederate monument removed from the site. Before its removal on September 8, 2021, the monument honored Confederate General Robert E. Lee, depicted on a horseback atop a large marble base that stood over 60 feet (18 m) tall. Constructed in France and shipped to Virginia, it remained the largest installation on Monument Avenue for over a century; it was first listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007 and the Virginia Landmarks Register in 2006.
After the murder of George Floyd in 2020, the controversial monument was vandalized in graffiti, and many activists had called for its removal. Ralph Northam, the Governor of Virginia, ordered for the statue to be removed on June 4, 2020, but was blocked by a state court pending the outcome of a lawsuit. The state court ultimately ruled in Northam's favor in October 2020, but the decision was again put on hold pending appeal. The Supreme Court of Virginia heard oral arguments in June 2021, ruling on September 2 that the restrictive covenants from 1887 and 1890 were no longer enforceable, and the monument could be removed by the state; the bronze sculpture was removed from its plinth six days later. The vacant plinth was dismantled in February 2022, and now no trace of the monument remains on its original site.
(read more...)National Park Service documentation: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41683201