Abraham DePeyster, born in what was still New Amsterdam in 1657, was mayor of New York City from 1692 to 1694. His statue, commissioned by one of his descendants, was originally intended for Battery Park in 1895, but this was met with strong resistance. Some thought there were more than enough statues in Battery Park already, while others considered it “aristocratic,” and not in keeping with a city populated by new immigrants. Instead, it was dedicated at Bowling Green in 1896, where it stood until 1972, when it was removed due to subway renovations. After a few years in storage, it was relocated to Hanover Square in 1976, being again removed and placed in storage in 2004 to make room for the Queen Elizabeth II September 11th Garden. Since 2014 the statue resides at Foley Square.
The wandering statue
On the corner of Arrogance and Hubris
A popular tourist ritual consists on being photographed while rubbing the part of the anatomy that separates the bull from the steer
In contrast to DePeyster’s statue, Charging Bull was placed on the north end of Bowling Green on a temporary basis in 1989 but it’s not going anywhere. It was created by Arturo DiModica, who placed it in front of the New York Stock Exchange in an act of guerrilla art on the night of 14 December. Initially removed by the NYPD later the following day, it was then placed in its current location on 20 December, and became one of the most iconic statues in the city. As with all works of art, different people see different things represented by it.
