Former D.C. Mayor Marion Barry’s commemorative statue to debut March 3
The eight-foot-tall statue will be unveiled outside the John A. Wilson Building
In November 2014, former D.C. Mayor Marion Barry, Jr. passed away at the age of 78, and since then, there have been plans to memorialize him with a statue. The $300,000, eight-foot-tall statue will be installed outside the John A. Wilson Building along Pennsylvania Avenue NW on Saturday, March 3 at 11:30 a.m. with a dedication by Mayor Muriel Bowser and Council Chair Phil Mendelson.
The statue is commissioned by the Executive Office of the Mayor (EOM) in partnership with the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities (DCCAH) and the Marion Barry Commission. The artist behind the statue is Maryland-based Steven Weitzman of Weitzman Studios.
Barry, dubbed Mayor for Life, is known for being elected mayor four times, his time in the D.C. Council, and a scandal that led to him being convicted of a misdemeanor cocaine possession. On Barry, the Washington Post’s Marc Fisher once wrote that “no other mayor has come close to his achievement in providing first jobs for poor young black residents.”
D.C. Councilmember and former Mayor Vincent Gray said, “The impact that Marion Barry had on the District is invaluable. Washingtonians continue to benefit from his efforts as mayor, a councilmember, civil rights activist, and an incomparable leader.”
For a preview of what the statue will look like, see the gallery below.
Original Source: The Curbed DC