Harlem Monuments Get A New Shine Through City Program

HARLEM, NY — Harlem's park monuments just got a little bit more shine.

A team from the New York City Park's Department Monuments Conservation Program took a trip to Harlem lat week to give a series of facelifts to multiple monuments in the neighborhood.

The two pieces of art to receive maintenance were the "Swing Low" sculpture of Harriet Tubman near West 122nd Street and Frederick Douglass Boulevard, and the "Harlem Hybrid" sculpture at West 125th Street and Morningside Avenue.

The Tubman sculpture was commissioned by the Department of Cultural Affairs and was created by Alison Saar in 2006.

"The artist has depicted Tubman 'not as the conductor of the Underground Railroad but as the train itself, an unstoppable locomotive,' the roots of slavery pulled up in her wake," reads the plaque for the monument.

The plaque also includes a quote from Douglass about Tubman, who said that outside of John Brown he knew of "no one who has willingly encountered more perils and hardships to serve our enslaved people."

The second monument to recently receive a facelift in Harlem was the "Harlem Hybrid" sculpture, created by the legendary Richard Hunt.

The piece was installed on the Harlem street in 1976, and was meant to mimic the arches of the nearby Church of St. Joseph of the Holy Family, the oldest church in Manhattan above 44th Street.

The citywide Monuments Conservation Program launched in 1997 with the goal of caring for public art within the five boroughs, and to train the next generation of conservators.

Since its inception, it has conserved more than 80 major sculptures and monuments, and also offers an annual summer program that trains college and graduate students.