Eagle, (sculpture).

Eagle, (sculpture).

Weinman, Adolph A., 1870-1952, sculptor.

McKim, Mead & White, architectural firm.

Eagle, (sculpture).

Pennsylvania Station Eagle, (sculpture).

Pennsylvania Railroad Eagle, (sculpture).

Penn Station Eagle, (sculpture).

1908-1910. Installed 1965.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: approx. 59 x 72 x 75 in. (5,700 lbs.).

American bald eagle stands with its wings spread looking like it is ready to take flight. Its claws are open and rest on an integrated, low, square base made of pink granite. The sculpture's base is set into a low flagstone and concrete base.

Animal -- Bird -- Eagle

Architectural component

Outdoor Sculpture -- District of Columbia -- Washington

Smithsonian Institution, National Zoological Park, 3001 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Exterior/Bird House Concourse, Washington, District of Columbia 20008

Formerly located Pennsylvania Station, New York, New York until 1965.

Inscription on nearby plaque reads: PENNSYLVANIA-STATION-EAGLE THIS EAGLE IS ONE OF SEVERAL WHICH ONCE ADORNED THE FACADE OF THE PENNSYLVANIA STATION, A LANDMARK OF NEW YORK, N.Y., FOR OVER 53 YEARS. IN 1965, WHEN THE STATION WAS DEMOLISHED TO MAKE WAY FOR MADISON SQUARE GARDEN AND A NEW PENNSYLVANIA STATION, MANY PEOPLE WANTED THE EAGLES, COLUMNS, AND DECORATIONS FROM THE BUILDING. THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION WAS FORTUNATE TO RECEIVE THIS EAGLE FROM THE PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD FOR THE NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK. ADOLPH A. WEINMAN, DESIGNER (1870-1952), 2590 KG (5700 LB), PINK GRANITE EAGLE.

This eagle is one of twenty-two of various sizes carved by Weinman for New York's Pennsylvania Station designed by McKim, Mead & White and built ca. 1903-1910. The Zoo's eagle is apparently one of fourteen granite eagles carved for the roof of the station between 1908-1910. When the station was demolished between 1963 and 1965, Secretary of Smithsonian S. Dillon Ripley and other board members negotiated for one of the eagles to be given to the National Zoological Park. The eagle was a gift of Stuart Saunders, Chairman of the Board, Pennsylvania Railroad. The eagle arrived at the zoo on June 23, 1965 and was installed at the entrance to the Zoo. It later traveled to Montreal for the Montreal Expo '67, and when it returned it was installed in front of the Bird House. IAS files contain a copy of an article on the dispersion of the Pennsylvanian Station eagles from "Pennsy, News for the Pennsylvania Railroad Family" (Nov. 1, 1966): pg. 1-2, the cover of which shows one of the eagles being removed from the roof of the station.

Smithsonian Institution, National Zoological Park, 1990.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, District of Columbia survey, 1993.

Goode, James M., "Washington Sculpture: A Cultural History of Outdoor Sculpture in the Nation's Capitol," Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008, no. 2.21.

Goode, James M., "Washington Sculpture: A Cultural History of Outdoor Sculpture in the Nation's Capitol," Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008, no. 2.21.

Related to: NJ000032.

Related to: 75009398.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

Control Number:

Horizon Information Portal 3.25_9382

Powered by SirsiDynix

About | © 2020 Smithsonian | Terms of Use | Privacy | Contact

SIRIS - Smithsonian Institution Research Information System