The father of the Reformation, Martin Luther, in Washington, D.C.:
Luther Statue, Washington D.C. (Thomas Circle) / February 2014
Taking his “Here I Stand” pose, as he so often does when appearing in statue form, Dr. Luther is memorializing his glory days. You know, the Diet of Worms; his dramatic refusal to recant; his death sentence and midnight escape.
The statue is a replica of one which stands in Germany at Worms (pronounced “Verms”) according to Wikipedia. (On Worms being pronounced “Verms”: I may have gone all through confirmation class, at a Lutheran church, unaware that using the wobbly English ‘W’ in that name was not quite right).
More photos of the statue and vicinity are below (including one from the 1920s):
This is very close to the heart of Downtown Washington D.C.
Have a look at a map pinpointing Thomas Circle. The Luther Statue is adjacent to it, on the north side.
Have a look at a map pinpointing Thomas Circle. The Luther Statue is adjacent to it, on the north side.
Thomas Circle is named for a Union general from Virginia (George Thomas, who won fame at the battle of Chickamagua). General Thomas gazes southwards, towards his native state, perhaps in the direction of Old Town Alexandria, where a Confederate Soldier, also in statue form, still (as far as I know) stares back.
General George Thomas “The Rock of Chickamagua”
Thomas Circle / February 2014
Thomas Circle / February 2014
The above are all my photos, taken in 2014. Below is Thomas Circle in the 1920s, with the Luther Statue in the back:
Thomas Circle, 1922 / From Library of Congress [link]
The trees on either side of General Thomas are still there in 2014, or at least trees of the same species.
Both of these statues are holdovers from a much earlier time. As I see it, there is no way either would’ve been granted statuehood in Washington, D.C. in the past fifty years. Yet there they boldly stand, even into the 2010s.