Sculptures such as the Little Mermaid in Copenhagen and Manneken Pis in Brussels have become icons of their respective cities, and the same thing has happened for Minneapolis, Minnesota with “Spoonbridge and Cherry”. This whimsical, 50-foot long piece has delighted visitors ever since it was installed and is now a familiar and iconic symbol for […]
Sculpture parks across the world and even in Iowa have been able to create excitement and activity for entire communities, but few have done so with as much success as the John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park. This collection of modern sculptures has helped to create a pedestrian-friendly entrance to downtown Des Moines, Iowa. In […]
Cleveland, Ohio is home to many monuments that are inherently linked to the identity of the city, and the “Free Stamp” has become similarly tied to the region. The massive, nearly 50-foot red stamp with the word “free” printed on the bottom has a history that is directly related to some other notable monuments and […]
Composed of two distinct monuments, the Cuarto Centenario Memorial in Albuquerque, New Mexico was created to commemorate the 400th anniversary of New Mexico’s founding. However, the process around selecting who and what the memorial would depict became contentious, and the final piece powerfully represents how monuments can represent the past and present of an entire […]
Brussels, Belgium has become known for everything from chocolate to structures like the Grand Place and Atomium that have come to define the landscape. No matter how famous such things become though, none of them can match the notoriety of Manneken Pis (meaning “peeing boy” in Dutch) since it has become the unofficial icon of […]
Bratislava features notable monuments like Michael’s Gate as well as the Slavín Memorial Complex, both of which celebrate very different aspects of the history of the city. The capital of Slovakia has a rich history that can be seen throughout these monuments but can also be experienced in a variety of sculptures and other landmarks […]
Monuments and memorials that celebrate the memories and sacrifices of individuals and entire groups come in all shapes and sizes, but few are as subtle yet powerful as the Shoes on the Danube memorial in Budapest, Hungary. The sixty pairs of period-appropriate shoes made out of iron are spread across a small section of the […]