Historian opposes moving Anthony Wayne statue

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) -- A federal historian is harshly criticizing a plan by Fort Wayne's mayor to move a statue of the city's namesake, Gen. Anthony Wayne, from a heavily wooded city square.

U.S. National Park Service architectural historian Michele J. Curran said in a Jan. 3 letter to Mayor Tom Henry that it is "extremely insensitive" for Henry to propose moving the bronze statue from Freimann Square to the Allen County Courthouse Green.

Wayne was a Revolutionary War general who founded several frontier forts, including Fort Wayne in 1794. The city's bronze statue depicting him on horseback was dedicated in 1918 and was moved to the downtown park in 1973.

The News-Sentinel reports (http://bit.ly/V7Tisx ) Henry wants the statue moved to a more visible spot outside the courthouse because Freimann Square's dense thicket of trees hides it from view.

But Curran said in the letter he also sent to city council members that the grounds of the Courthouse Building -- a national historic landmark -- have "been carefully restored with historic accuracy at great expense."
   "It seems extremely insensitive on the part of the city to make a decision which is so damaging to the integrity of the Allen County Courthouse," he wrote.

The Allen County Courthouse Preservation Trust raised the funds for the renovation of the courthouse and the purchase and creation of the Courthouse Green. It also opposes the statue's proposed relocation, saying it could cause others to also place things on the green.

Curran wrote that the National Park Service "highly recommends that the General Wayne statue not be relocated to the historic Courthouse Green because it will damage the historical integrity of the Green."

His letter also said that if the city moves the statue to the courthouse property, the park service would reevaluate whether the space should remain a national historic landmark -- a status granted in July 2003 by the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Fort Wayne's mayor, however, remains determined to move the statue to the green, city spokesman John Perlich said in an email.

"Mayor Henry respects the concerns raised in the letter, but he remains committed to this project," Perlich said. "He strongly believes moving the Anthony Wayne statue to the Courthouse Green will be a tremendous benefit to the community, residents and visitors."
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   Information from: The News-Sentinel, http://www.news-sentinel.com/ns