Ramsey County History – Fall 2002: “St. Gaudens’ New York Eagle: Rescue and Restoration of St. Paul’s First Outdoor Sculpture, Icon of Its Past”

St. Gaudens’ New York Eagle: Rescue and Restoration of St. Paul’s First Outdoor Sculpture, Icon of Its Past
Author: Christine Podas-Larson

The New York Eagle is one of St. Paul’s most famed outdoor sculptures. It became a fixture in downtown in 1887 when the New York Life Insurance Company built a St. Paul branch. The bronze eagle, modeled by prominent sculptor Augustus St. Gaudens and his brother Louis, perched above the entrance of the ten-story building at Sixth and Minnesota. After the building was torn down in 1967, the salvaged sculpture was relocated to the outer edge of a new parking ramp. Public Art St. Paul gained legal control of the Eagle in 1999 and worked on its restoration and installation at Summit Overlook Park.
PDF of Podas-Larson article