Bust Stolen From Smith Memorial Arch Found Under Highway Near FDR Park
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A bust that went missing from a Philadelphia Civil War monument has now turned up under a highway.
Fairmount Park officials say the bust of Gen. James A. Beaver was stolen from the Smith Memorial Arch sometime late Thursday night. The Smith Memorial Arch is an American Civil War monument located right across from the Please Touch Museum in Fairmount Park.
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"We are not really sure what happened to the sculpture," Kathryn Ott Lovell, commissioner of Philadelphia Parks and Recreations said. "We actually did not know it was missing."
The bust was found under I-95, near the FDR Park area, around 9 a.m. Friday.
Whoever initially stole the sculpture had to climb at least 15 feet to reach the bust and had to have help taking it down, because its over 3-feet tall, was secured on the arch and it weighs several hundred pounds.
"This is not the kind of thing you can throw in the back of your pickup truck, so we are a little stymied," Lovell said.
The bust of Gen. James A. Beaver was installed in 1912. Beaver was the 20th governor of Pennsylvania.
In recent weeks there has been debates all over the country about controversial historical statues and sculptures, as well as their roles on public property.
In center city, former mayor Frank Rizzo's statue has been vandalized.
In Charlottesville Virginia, a rally over the statue of Robert E Lee, who was a general for the Confederate Army during the Civil War, ended deadly.
"It obviously a very complicated issue in America," tourist Chris Beach explained. "There's a lot of pain, a lot of hurt, and a lot of harsh feelings."
Officials say they will inspect the Beaver bust to see if it was damaged during the time it was missing.
"I don't think this is a way to solve our problems," Beach said about the recent actions surrounding historical statues, sculptures, and their removal.
"I really can't speak to whether or not this has any connect to what has happened," Lovell said. "He was a Union general and a Pennsylvania governor. I don't think he was incredibly controversial."
The investigation remains ongoing as Philadelphia Police are looking into who stole the General James Beaver bust and why they dumped it.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the authorities.
