Monday, September 5, 2011

Victory in Bondage



After being repaired and refurbished, the 19,000-pound, 38-foot tall sculpture by George Brewster, Victory, AKA Miss Indiana, will be returned to her aerie atop the Soldiers & Sailors Monument early Tuesday morning. She'd been removed from her perch last spring, a place she'd held since she was placed there, facing south, in 1893. 



Victory returned to the Circle Friday on a flatbed trailer. Encased in a steel cage and wrapped with yellow CAUTION tape, she was placed next to the crane which will return her to her vigil early Tuesday morning. People came to look her over and take pictures, the closest opportunity anyone has had to see the Lady who's watched over the city since before we were born.




The renovation work marked the first time Victory was removed from the Monument, since she was first hauled to the top 118 years ago with horses and pulleys. A large red crane, balanced with massive counter-weights, has been in place for months as renovation work was done to the 285-foot high Monument; it's assignment on Tuesday will be daunting nonetheless, as the horsepower of its engine replaces the draft horses used over a century ago. 

5 comments:

dive said...

Woohoo! Watching Lady Victory get hauled up to her home will be quite an event. I'd love to be there for that.

Speedway said...

I do want to see it myself. They plan to make the move at about 6 AM, which means I'll have to leave here at 5 to get there in time. There is a large scaffolding/cage on top of the Monument used by the workmen and an armature for the statue, so they will have to lift her, in her own cage, past her own height to "drop" her over the armature. This, folks ... will be a treat.

I'm sure there'll be video, which I will send along.

dive said...

Yay, fun! It promises to be quite an event.

lin said...

Victory in Bondage is such a great title, is it the statue or the state of the union?

Speedway said...

Hi, Lin! I saw a tall, strong woman in a cage and tied up with yellow strapping. It just looked so incongruous.

By the way, other women looking on and I decided Victory is a D-cup, making her appearance a victory of substance over style, as well.

As for the country, wouldn't you know it's a bunch of scared little men in striped suits holding us all hostage while they kiss the lobbyists' asses? Sometimes I think the only way to tell the difference between Congress and criminals is the direction of the stripes on their suits.