Title
Frederick Douglass Memorial
Primary Artist Last
Miller
Primary Artist First
Algernon
Primary Artist Middle
NULL
Secondary Artist Last
NULL
Secondary Artist First
NULL
Secondary Artist Middle
NULL
Artists Keyword
African American, Black American
Primary Architect Last
NULL
Primary Architect First
NULL
Primary Architect Middle
NULL
Secondary Architect Last
NULL
Secondary Architect First
NULL
Secondary Architect Middle
NULL
Landscape Architect Last
NULL
Landscape Architect First
NULL
Landscape Architect Middle
NULL
Architecture Firm
Quennell Rothschild & Partners
Date Created Approximation
N
Date Dedicated Approximation
N
Artwork Type1
Decorative paving, stone seating, fence
Artwork Type2
Monument/Memorial
Location Name
Frederick Douglass Circle
Address
Central Park North & Frederick Douglass Boulevard
Subject Keyword
Abolitionist, African American, Black American, Black History, author
Inscription
Granite block 1: BORN FREDERICK AUGUSTUS BAILEY, 1818, TALBOT COUNTY, MARYLAND. Granite block 2: MARRIED ANNA MURRAY IN 1838, WHO DIED IN 1882. Granite block 3: MARRIED HELEN PITTS IN 1884. Granite block 4: "WHATEVER MAY BE SAID AS TO A DIVISION OF DUTIES AND AVOCATIONS, / THE RIGHTS OF MAN AND THE RIGHTS OF WOMAN ARE ONE AND / INSEPARABLE, AND STAND UPON THE SAME INDESTRUCTABLE BASIS." - 1851 "WHATEVER MAY BE SAID AS TO A DIVISION OF DUTIES AND AVOCATIONS, / THE RIGHTS OF MAN AND THE RIGHTS OF WOMAN ARE ONE AND / INSEPARABLE, AND STAND UPON THE SAME INDESTRUCTABLE BASIS." - 1851 Granite block 5: "THE FLIGHT WAS A BOLD AND PERILOUS ONE; BUT HERE / I AM, IN THE GREAT CITY OF NEW YORK, SAFE AND SOUND, / WITHOUT THE LOSS OF BLOOD OR BONE." - 1855 Granite block 6: "SUCH IS MY DETESTATION OF SLAVERY, THAT I WOULD KEEP THE MERCILESS SLAVEHOLDER PROFOUNDLY IGNORANT OF THE MEANS OF FLIGHT / ADOPTED BY THE SLAVE. HE SHOULD BE LEFT TO IMAGINE HIMSELF SURROUNDED BY MYRIADS OF INVISIBLE TORMENTORS..." - 1855 Pavement: RIGHT IS OF NO SEX - TRUTH IS OF NO COLOR - GOD IS THE FATHER OF US ALL, AND WE ARE ALL BRETHREN / MASTHEAD OF THE NORTH STAR Fountain, north side: FREDERICK DOUGLASS / 1818-1895 / BORN INTO SLAVERY IN MARYLAND, FREDERICK / BAILEY FOUND THE WAY TO FREEDOM ALONG THE / UNDERGROUND RAILROAD IN 1838. DISGUISED AS A / SAILOR, HE TRAVELED TO MANHATTAN BY SHIP, AND FOUND SHELTER AT THE HOUSE OF ABOLITIONIST / DAVID RUGGLES ON LISPENARD STREET. THERE, HE / AWAITED THE ARRIVAL OF HIS FIANCEE, ANNA / MURRAY, A FREE BLACK WOMAN FROM MARYLAND. / THEY MARRIED, AND TOGETHER CONTINUED / BAILEY'S FREEDOM JOURNEY TO MASSACHUSETTS, WHERE HE CHANGED HIS NAME TO DOUGLASS. / LAUDED FOR HIS ORATION, HE BECAME A PROMINENT / ABOLITIONIST AND PURCHASED HIS LEGAL FREEDOM / FROM SLAVERY. / PUBLISHER OF THE ABOLITIONIST / JOURNAL THE NORTH STAR, HE CHAMPIONED / FREEDOM FOR ALL AMERICANS AND ENDORSED / WOMEN'S SUFFRAGE. DOUGLASS LATER HELD POSTS / AS ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF THE SANTO DOMINGO / COMMISSION (1871), MARSHALL OF THE DISTRICT OF / COLUMBIA (1877-1881) AND U.S. MINISTER TO HAITI / (1889-1891). FOLLOWING THE DEATH OF HIS WIFE / IN 1884, DOUGLASS MARRIED HELEN PITTS. HE DIED / IN WASHINGTON, D.C. ON FEBRUARY 20, 1895. Fountain, south side: GABRIEL KOREN, SCULPTOR / ALGERNON MILLER, SITE ARTIST / DECEMBER 2005
Managing City Agency
Department of Parks and Recreation
Acquisition
Commissioned through Department of Cultural Affairs Percent for Art Program
