Nine feet of sheet copper, globe in hand, the Christopher Columbus Discovery Monument by Alfonso Pelzer rises on the Ohio Statehouse grounds in Columbus. Cast by the W. H. Mullins Company around 1890–1892, the figure of Columbus stands about nine feet tall, weighing roughly 150 pounds, and holds a globe in his hands. Beside him is a granite pedestal topped by a dove resting on a globe, part of the fountain ensemble whose south inscription begins, "1892 A dream shared / by later generations / who explored a vast continent...
Read the base inscriptions and you’ll hear the story of the statue’s journey: "The Pontifical College Josephinum commissioned this statue from the W. H. Mullins studio," and later it was "Donated by the Josephinum to the State of Ohio / The statue was relocated to Capitol Square. Another side ties Ohio to the navigator’s homeland: "The fountain honors Ohio's sister state bond with Liguria, Italy, the navigator's home. The west face simply notes the voyages: "Christopher Columbus, an Italian navigator, launched four voyages of discovery to the new world.
Take a moment to walk around the pedestal and let your eye travel across these inscriptions and the grounds that now surround it. Notice the Statehouse grounds spreading out across Capitol Square.