Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial | Boston Common | Downtown

[tangent]

I really really hope none of these gets built on the Common. I hope they don't get built anywhere, but especially not on the Common.

But you know what would be great? I wish someone would commission a King memorial to stand in answer to that really condescending lincoln-frees-the-slave statue at park plaza.

Like - same scale and style, but with all the figures standing up ... MLK in the middle or whatever, regular citizen types on either side.. Put the new MLK statue and the old lincoln one in a single setting, like 50 feet from eachother, somewhere prominent. Maybe to the left and right of Robert Gould Shaw.

Oh wow... thanks for pointing that out. Or maybe I would have been better off not really seeing what was going on there. Really bad.

That statue is a prime candidate for scrap. Or just cut out Lincoln and break the chain.

 

[Padre Mike]

Each proposal has merit and I like something about all of them. The problem I have is with the amount of territory of the Common given over to one, large monument. I would prefer the Embrace monument and then smaller pieces spread through the Common made of similar material and symbolic of various aspects of his ministry...perhaps leading to a clear path to the Museum of African American History on Beacon Hill. This way MLK's is not just a "destination" monument, but one that invites deeper exploration into the lives of Boston's African American community.

 

[bostonbred]

Oh wow... t statue is a prime candidate for scrap. Or just cut out Linc and break the chain.

THIS being simla statute: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news...statue-removed-san-francisco-native-americans

 

[Mike]

Looks like this is moving forward, two proposals have been eliminated three remain

Those three proposals are:


■ “The Ripple Effects,” a sprawling concept that features two towers that emit light and sound in a rippled landscape next to a glass-walled walkway inscribed with civil rights milestones.

■ “Boston’s King Memorial,” a dramatic black stone bridge jutting from Beacon Street into the Common.

■ “The Embrace,” an eye-catching, 22-foot sculpture of the Kings’ interlocking arms made of mirror-finish bronze.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2...ions-delays/f2Rg2KcuoLnfY6f62HhkPI/story.html


Eliminated

Remaining proposals

 

[FK4]

Then it will be this one. There's 0% chance the other two get built, for reasons already discussed above. Nobody is going to allow major construction on the Common. I'm not even sure this project, generally speaking, has even been approved by the relevant bodies - aren't there special rules on the Common that make it different than other city parks? I know the land can never be used for commercial purposes (famously contested during the construction of the garage underneath) but I think there may be other rules, too. Anyone know?

 

[tobyjug]

Golden fingers in front of the State House... apt.

 

[odurandina]

i'm fine with MLK, YES WE LOVE MLK.

but this humongous thing in the COMMON totally sucks.

The Common just isn't big enough.

Put a regular normal statue up.

 

[DZH22]

The Common is definitely big enough for the interlocking hands. The other 2 proposals require too radical of a reconfiguration to happen. Sometimes less is more. This reminds me a little bit of the Bean in Chicago, except obviously that one's real draw is that it is reflective.

 

[stick n move]

What are the hands doing? Ill appreciate it more if it makes sense.

 

[DBM]

What are the hands doing? Ill appreciate it more if it makes sense.

Really? I honestly can't imagine a more self-explanatory symbolism.

The hands signify/embody this (scroll down a little for the image I'm referring to):

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/memphis-sanitation-workers-recall-marching-with-martin-luther-king-jr/

And this:

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/02/john-lewis-martin-luther-king-jr/552581/

And this (click on inset black-and-white image):

https://ucw-cwa.org/story/martin-luther-king-jr-day-knoxville-parade-banquet


And this:

https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4cN6fWUftjE/UP1JZRSa3GI/AAAAAAAAE50/HHsmQcUhgEE/s1600/Hesburgh-Theodore-and-Martin-Luther-King-with-another-priest_1960.jpg


One could go on and on.

In short, it symbolizes the work of dismantling America's formal/legal apartheid state, which was still deeply entrenched well into my baby boomer parents' childhoods, it was so relatively recent...

 

[Justin7]

^ Not sure about that. I'd say it is something closer to this:

On multiple occasions, the nation witnessed the Kings locked together at the frontlines of a march. A monument that captures this embrace
declares that love is the ultimate weapon against injustice. In evoking the love shared between the Kings, their commitment to each other, and
their ideals, The Embrace is overwhelmingly simple and accessible: it is about what we share, not what sets us apart.

http://kingboston.org/art/proposals/hank.pdf

 

[Ruairi]

I like it.
Simple but not boring.
A real landmark.
A tourist destination.
If we can get something that inspires half the interaction the 'bean' does, we're doing well.
Hope it's easy to clean!

 

[SlothofDespond]

Right, it's like the Chicago bean, but complex and ugly.

Reminds me of one of those animated bits where a bunch of hands reach out from hell and pull someone in. Detached arms are always weird.

 

[theSil]

Am I the only proponent of the 2nd remaining proposal? Or perhaps a slightly toned down version of it?

It's not an eye-grabbing addition, competing with the other nodes that already exist in the Common. It simply adds some interesting but subdued, interactive 3-D geometry. I think it would produce a very similar experience to the bridges of Central Park.

(And it has the added benefit of improving accessibility since it looks to be replacing stairs).

 

[fattony]

Am I the only proponent of the 2nd remaining proposal? Or perhaps a slightly toned down version of it?

It's not an eye-grabbing addition, competing with the other nodes that already exist in the Common. It simply adds some interesting but subdued, interactive 3-D geometry. I think it would produce a very similar experience to the bridges of Central Park.

(And it has the added benefit of improving accessibility since it looks to be replacing stairs).

That one would be my second choice out of all five, but I do prefer The Embrace.

 

[statler]

I am ok with it. It might be too subtle to read as an actual monument to anything though. I like it as a landscape feature however. And I think it will be beside the stairs?

 

[FK4]

It's probably time to reignite the question of whether or not the Common is an appropriate place for an MLK memorial at all.

What's great about the Common, as is about all Commons, is that it's plain, unvarnished space that exists for free and open use - which makes it unique in that regard. There's no specific 'point' or purpose, otherwise. I think the less 'things' the better here, and building any new statues or structures sets a bad precedent.

Secondly, while King did live in Boston, there's something disingenuous embedded within much of the agitation for a King memorial here... Boston has serious issues with segregation and racism that remain to be addressed, and there's definitely an element of white guilt yearning to be assuaged here. Obviously, there's plenty of other motivations, too, but somewhere in this whole argument there's a palpable feeling that building something for MLK lets Boston act as though it's really 'doing something'. The reason this is especially questionable is how much the city (and the Globe, in tow) seems to be trying to lay claim to MLK and his legacy, and while King may have gone to divinity school here, Boston was not otherwise a place of major significance to him. He was not from Boston, and his great work was not done in Boston. So whether or not the city can make much of a claim to his legacy in the way it's trying to is again of somewhat questionable motive, and feels a bit like it's patting itself on the back. You can be sure, if and when this memorial gets built, the white pols will be out in force proclaiming how much this represents a historic shift in Boston's racist legacy (or more covert suggestions of the same), while whenever that day comes, the streets and signage in the white working class 'hoods of Hyde Park and southern Dorchester below Gallivan will still be cleaner and better maintained than their equivalents in Roxbury and central Dorchester. Of course we can have symbolic statues and real change happen at the same time; one needn't wait for the other... but there's something that smells here like the latter is being attempted.

Anyway... if he is to get a statue anywhere in Boston, should it be because he once lived in Boston and we're underscoring the local connection, or are we simply honoring a national hero? That question should be answered before decisions are made; motives, both conscious and subconscious, should be analyzed.

 

[Rover]

And the award for Overthinking This goes to....

First, if we are to disqualify MLK memorials in any place that is still dealing with racial issues, I guess that pretty much leaves out Georgia.

Next, I'm not sure how it looks to black folks in the city if there's a memorial for John Paul II's appearance on the Common, a man who has less personal connection to Boston than King who both spent his formative graduate student years here and met his wife here.

Lastly, who cares how politicians react? King is an iconic and inspirational figure for whites and blacks and everybody else. I fail to see how potential grandstanding from a couple of city councilors or whoever you're talking about should be a reason to not celebrate King's message? That's bizarre.

 

[FK4]

You’re right, god forbid anyone does any thinking on this forum. It’s only architecture, after all...

 

[navigator4]

Oh wow... thanks for pointing that out. Or maybe I would have been better off not really seeing what was going on there. Really bad.

That statue is a prime candidate for scrap. Or just cut out Lincoln and break the chain.

First, I think getting rid of ANY statute is a mistake. Just because history is not always squeaky clean, does not mean we should pretend it does not exist. If you look at any statute in Boston, there could be criticism if you dig deep enough. Teaching history rather than destroying it is the only intelligent solution.

As for MLK Jr memorial, I think supporters are trying to jam it into a site that is too small. Why not add the monument to a new green space created by a new development-say Winthrop Square atrium or Bulfinch Crossing plaza.