Abraham Lincoln statue returns to street corner in Wilkinsburg

Abraham Lincoln stood tall when the United States was at a crossroads during the Civil War.

Now he is once again standing tall at the crossroads of Penn Avenue and Ardmore Boulevard, along the historic Lincoln Highway in Wilkinsburg.

A new bronze statue of the 16th president of the United States was unveiled Saturday morning in the very spot where a hammered copper Lincoln statue was dedicated in 1916. Some 75 people gathered for a ceremony patterned after the original dedication, featuring a four-piece band, singers, patriotic bunting, American flags, balloons and even a Lincoln re-enactor.

Master of ceremonies WTAE-TV anchor Andrew Stockey led the festivities, which included Tanya Grubbs singing “The Star-Spangled Banner,” followed by Chantal Braziel’s stirring rendition of “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”

A new bronze, life-size statue of Abraham Lincoln was unveiled Saturday morning in Wilkinsburg at the corner of Ardmore Blvd and Penn Avenue. pic.twitter.com/x1ZLJuKfr5

— Paul Guggenheimer (@PGuggenheimer) July 26, 2021

Girl Scout Troop 52326 led the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance. David Wiegers, a Lincoln authority and originator of the Facebook page “Images of Abraham Lincoln,” discussed Lincoln’s presidency and the events leading up to the Emancipation Proclamation, the 1863 document authored by Lincoln that declared slaves to be free.

The day was two-and-a-half-years in the making, going back to early 2019 when Wilkinsburg Historical Society President Anne Elise Morris announced plans to raise over $70,000 to build a bronze, life-size statue of Lincoln to replace the old one. She started a GoFundMe page and put out the word for donations.

“We had so many people who cared about this statue being erected,” Morris told the crowd. “Thank you to all the Wilkinsburg people, people who were from Wilkinsburg and people who used to live in Wilkinsburg and people who were educated in Wilkinsburg.”

Morris announced the name of the statue is “Forever Free,” words taken from the text of the Emancipation Proclamation, and then she unveiled a plaque mounted next to the statue that reads “Abraham Lincoln, 1809-1865, presented to the people of Wilkinsburg, past, present and future by Wilkinsburg Historical Society and many generous donors, July 24, 2021, Susan Wagner, sculptor.”

The new Lincoln statue weighs 400 pounds and stands 6-foot-4, the same height as the man himself. It reveals Lincoln in a pensive state, his head turned slightly to his left and angled downward, his right hand clutching the base of the lapel on his frock coat. In his left hand is a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation. The document is identifiable by the imitation of Lincoln’s handwriting that Wagner engraved on a visible part of the rolled-up sheet.

The statue was a hit with those gathered for the dedication. The crowd enthusiastically applauded as soon as it was unveiled.

For her part, Wagner, a Penn Hills native, said she felt relieved.

“I’m always concerned about if people are going to like my work or not,” she said. “It was difficult. I sculpted (Lincoln) right after the shutdown during covid. I couldn’t get a lot of information that I needed because everything was shut down. I couldn’t get the death mask from Soldiers & Sailors (Memorial Hall & Museum). And then my welder got covid. It was really hard to create in that atmosphere.”

But create she did.

“I feel good now. It was a welcoming crowd and I’m glad it’s all done.”

The original statue stood for more than 100 years. But the century of wear and tear, plus a few misadventures, took their toll and the copper Lincoln statue was brought inside the Wilkinsburg Borough building at the end of 2018.

The new Lincoln statue weighs four times as much as the old one and is mounted on a black granite base. The area for the new statue has been refurbished, thanks to a Keystone Communities grant.

“Three nice new benches have been placed there, so we have a beautiful sitting area, a monument viewing area,” said Morris.