The original statue of Samuel DuPont sat for more than a generation at the center of Dupont Circle. Then it was removed because people thought it was ugly. Read the story to learn more.
This is D.C.’s original statue of Rear Admiral Samuel Francis Dupont, installed in 1884. Here you see it – clearly sitting at the center of Dupont Circle. We see the namesake admiral but we don’t see the well-known Dupont Circle fountain. Why did Washingtonians remove Dupont from his circle? The answer is a simple one.
The original Dupont statue by Launt Thompson viewed looking north toward Connecticut Avenue from Dupont Circle. Photo c.1885-1900. (Hagley Museum and Library)
People Hated This Statue
Here’s how the Washington Times explained the situation in 1919:
The rather awkward looking statue of Admiral Dupont which has stood in the circle for more than twenty-five years has long been an eye-sore to his relatives and friends, and some time ago permission was asked of Congress to erect a new and more fitting monument.
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Critics talked about the statue’s “iron whiskers.” They were merciless. Congress acted in 1917, authorizing its removal — with a pledge from the Dupont family to pay for a better monument.
Mrs. Willard Saulsbury, wife of the Senator from Delaware, and a niece of Admiral Dupont, was the leader in the movement to effect the removal of the old statue and the substitution of the new one. She and other relatives did not regard the present statue as a work of art suitable to the place it occupies, and provided that in consideration of being allowed to remove it the new statue should cost the Government nothing at all. –Washington Times, 8/27/1918
The Dupont family — with the blessings of the District’s Commission of Fine Arts — selected Daniel Chester French and Henry Bacon to build a new monument. They were the sculptor/architect duo responsible for the Lincoln Memorial. The new design featured allegorical figures for the sea, wind, and stars supporting a fountain. The admiral wasn’t pictured but he was described in the inscription encircling the base:
Samuel Francis Dupont – Rear Admiral, United States Navy, 1803-1865 – This Memorial Fountain Replaces a Statue Erected by the Congress of the United States in Recognition of His Distinguished Services.
Launt Thompson’s sculptured likeness of Admiral Dupont was carted out of Washington in August 1920.
The Rejected Statue Is Now In Delaware
The sculpture that our city threw away was gladly accepted by Wilmington, Delaware. The monument stands today in Rockford Park. Its pedestal notes the sculpture’s previous home:
Originally placed in Du Pont Circle – Washington, D.C. – It was removed to this site – A.D. MCMXX
The original Dupont statue now in Wilmington (Wikipedia)
More Fun Stuff
The sketch at right appeared in The Post at the statue’s unveiling on December 21, 1884.
The roadway was known as Pacific Circle before it memorialized Admiral Dupont.
For more photos of the original sculpture at its Delaware location, check out DCmemorials.com.
Here’s an interesting bit about the admiral’s wife from the Milwaukee Daily Journal‘s 1884 coverage of the original statue unveiling:
The widow Dupont is a resident of Philadelphia. … Her maiden name, strange to say, was Sophia Dupont and was not changed by her marriage to the admiral, who was her first cousin.
A side view of the statue of Rear Admiral Samuel Francis Dupont set on the inside of Dupont Circle.
