Sights ~ Constance Witherby statue, Providence
Constance Witherby statue
corner Blackstone Blvd. and Clarendon
Providence, Rhode Island
You probably wouldn't notice it from your car, but the hundreds of walkers, joggers and strollers who use the trail along Blackstone Boulevard divider know it. A statue of a young girl, titled A Memorial to Young Womanhood or The Spirit of Youth. It's a statue of a young woman named Constance Witherby (though not in her likeness), originally erected in 1929 at Constance Witherby park (210 Pitman St.) by her parents, and moved to the Blackstone greenway after it had been vandalized at its original location.
Constance was born in 1913 and was a talented poet in her early to mid-teens at the Lincoln School, until she died unexpectedly while vacationing in Switzerland in 1929. After her death, her mother collected her poems and published them as Sunshine & Stardust.*
Blackstone Parks Conservancy now maintains the statue as part of its care for the greenway. More on them in another post.
Amazon currently has one copy of Sunshine & Stardust
available. If you're interested, keep checking back.
*from the Rhode Island Historical Society
corner Blackstone Blvd. and Clarendon
Providence, Rhode Island
You probably wouldn't notice it from your car, but the hundreds of walkers, joggers and strollers who use the trail along Blackstone Boulevard divider know it. A statue of a young girl, titled A Memorial to Young Womanhood or The Spirit of Youth. It's a statue of a young woman named Constance Witherby (though not in her likeness), originally erected in 1929 at Constance Witherby park (210 Pitman St.) by her parents, and moved to the Blackstone greenway after it had been vandalized at its original location.
Constance was born in 1913 and was a talented poet in her early to mid-teens at the Lincoln School, until she died unexpectedly while vacationing in Switzerland in 1929. After her death, her mother collected her poems and published them as Sunshine & Stardust.*
Blackstone Parks Conservancy now maintains the statue as part of its care for the greenway. More on them in another post.
Amazon currently has one copy of Sunshine & Stardust
available. If you're interested, keep checking back.*from the Rhode Island Historical Society
I drive down Blackstone Blvd. at least once a month and I never noticed this statue. Nor have I heard of Constance or her story. I'm intrigued. I'm going to see if her book of poems is available at the library. Thanks for the information.
ReplyDelete