Mary Cahalan statue
The Mary Cahalan statue is an 11-foot-tall marble monument to former Powell School teacher and principal Mary Cahalan located in the southeast quarter of Linn Park, just outside the entrance to the Linn-Henley Research Library.
The statue was carved from bluish-white Talladega marble by sculptor Giuseppe Moretti, assisted by Geneva Mercer. It was dedicated in 1908. The statue depicts Cahalan, who died in 1906, seated and reading a book. The base is inscribed "Mary A. Cahalan, Teacher" on the front, and "Erected by the People of Birmingham" on the back.
In 1980 the National Geodetic Survey embedded a steel rod benchmark northwest of the statue, using it a reference point. The benchmark is located at 33°31'13" N by -86°48'30" W at an altitude of 614.52 feet above mean sea level. (locate)
In 2006 the Friends of Linn Park hired sculptor Dale Chambliss to restore and conserve the statue, which was suffering from soil, frost damage, and a broken nose. A video documentary has been chronicling the restoration process. Tom MacKnight (www.tmack.com) is producing a video documentary on the process. While following the restoration, MacKnight and Chambliss decided to include features of Moretti, Cahalan, the Marble Industry in Alabama and Chambliss. Russell Hubbard agreed to write the story for the documentary in March of 2007. The project includes footage from Moretti's Talladega quarry as well as the Sylacauga Quarry which remains in production today. Scott Brande of UAB will be contributing his geological expertise to the production. The project is expected to be completed in September 2007.
The statue is featured in Jay Taylor's parody The Moretti Code.
References
- www.tmack.com [1]
- Hubbard, Russell (September 25, 2006) "After years of neglect, Linn Park statue gets facelift." Birmingham News.
- Jordan, Phillip (March 24, 2005) "Moretti's assistant: Alabama's own Geneva Mercer." Birmingham Weekly.