Mayor Kevin White
Walking near Faneuil Hall, it is easy to focus on the history you expect to find: Revolutionary sites, early American stories, the familiar markers of the city’s beginnings. Just beyond that, is a figure that is hard to ignore: the life size bronze statue of Kevin H. White.
Located at street level and captured mid-stride, the sculpture immediately draws your attention. There is movement in it, a sense that he is walking with purpose through the city he once led. This feels more like an encounter, than a memorial.
Kevin White served as mayor of Boston from 1968 to 1984, one of the longest tenures in the city’s history. His time in office came during years of significant challenge and change, including the era of school desegregation and busing, as well as the ongoing development of Boston into a modern urban center. He was a visible presence in the city, often out among the people, and that accessibility is reflected in the sculpture.
Created by Pablo Eduardo and installed in 2016 to mark the centennial of White’s birth, the statue depicts him in motion, within the public space. Its location, near Boston’s civic core, is appropriate. This is a part of the city where layers of history meet, and Major White represents a chapter in the ongoing story of this city.
Read More From Nancy
Revolutionary War Medallion
I enjoy wandering through old cemeteries and to the small symbols that mark the lives of people who came before us. Among the most powerful markers are the medallions places at the graves of Revolutionary War veterans, each one a reminder of the earliest defenders of our young nation resting beneath New England’s grass. As I explored these burying […]
Leaded Gasoline
Curiosity is what drives exploration and it’s the spark that makes me stop, look around, and ask questions. If you’ve ever wondered about something as ordinary as the leaded gas pump, you’re touching on a fascinating (and troubling) piece of 20th-century history. In 1921, General Motors discovered adding lead to gasoline eliminated “knocking” and by […]
The Good Humor Truck
During our trip to Lancaster County Pennsylvania this summer, we rode the historic train in Strasburg. As part of their railroad grounds exhibition, was a Good Humor ice cream truck. It stood there as if it had rolled out of our 1950s neighborhood. The story of the Good Humor truck begins in Youngstown, Ohio […]
