Coming down: More than 100-year-old Confederate statue removed from Leonard Park
GAINESVILLE -- A more than 100-year-old statue that’s been near I-35 and California St. is no more. At least not in public view.
On Wednesday, June 16, a crew with Dallas-based Unified Fine Arts dismantled and moved the Confederate statue at Leonard Park, 1000 W. California St., which was erected Feb. 15, 1908, by the Gainesville-based Lou Dougherty Chapter No. 366 Daughters of the Confederacy.
“We received bids several weeks ago and we selected the low bid of $12,108, which is being paid from the hotel occupancy tax fund,” said City Manager Barry Sullivan of the moving company.
State law allows HOT funds to be used for history and art, he said.
During a special meeting on July 14, 2020, the Gainesville City Council unanimously agreed to remove the Confederate monument.
Read more: https://www.gainesvilleregister.com/news/coming-down-more-than-100-year-old-confederate-statue-removed-from-leonard-park/article_4e013050-cff0-11eb-99a3-5b283e5bafe7.html
Men with Dallas-based Unified Fine Arts dismantle the more than 100-year-old Confederate monument at Leonard Park, 1000 W. California St. in Gainesville on Wednesday afternoon, June 16. The statue was erected Feb. 15, 1908, by the Gainesville-based Lou Dougherty Chapter No. 366 Daughters of the Confederacy.
Tanner Spearman/Gainesville Daily Register