Karl Gruppe's Film Reels - Design Commission

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Karl Gruppe's Film Reels
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Taber Sears' Mural Series

City Hall Portrait Collection

Frank Cousins Collection

Karl Gruppe's Film Reels

WPA Abstract Murals

Taber Sears' Mural Series


Karl Gruppe's Film Reels

Karl Gruppe was a sculptor who worked on the Monument Restoration Project of the New York City Department of Parks for the Public Works of Art Project from 1934 to 1937. He was a member of the Commission from 1944 to 1947.

This digitized film was taken under Gruppe’s supervision and documents his modeling and creation of the Henry Hudson Monument in the Bronx, as well as monument cleaning and restoration activities in the late 1930s. Below is a video of Karl Gruppe's film reels, and its followed by a list of the monuments that are featured.

These monuments, listed in order of appearance, are featured in the film:

Henry Hudson Monument, Henry Hudson Park, the Bronx (00:00-10:15)

Maine Monument, Central Park, Manhattan (10:27-14:37)

Peter Cooper, Cooper Square, Manhattan (14:37-20:04)

William Tecumseh Sherman, Grand Army Plaza, Manhattan (20:09-21:10)

Ulysses S. Grant statue, Brooklyn (21:11-22:08)

William Earl Dodge statue, Herald Square (prior to move to Bryant Park), Manhattan (22:09-22:44)

Josephine Shaw Lowell Memorial Fountain, Bryant Park, Manhattan (22:45-23:06)

Firemen’s Memorial, Riverside Park, Manhattan (23:07-27:14)

Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch, Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn (27:15-28:56)

Independence Flagstaff, Union Square, Manhattan (28:57-30:37)

Dongan Oak Marker, Prospect Park, Brooklyn (30:38-30:49)

General Winfield Scott Hancock, Manhattan (30:50-31:03)

Joan of Arc, Riverside Drive, Manhattan (31:04-31:36)

Columbus Monument, Columbus Circle, Manhattan (31:37-32:53)

William Cullen Bryant Memorial, Bryant Park, Manhattan (32:54-34:17)

Straus Memorial, Straus Park, Manhattan (34:18-34:57)

George Washington at Valley Forge, Brooklyn (34:58-37:04)

Washington Irving (formerly in Bryant Park, now at High School) (37:05-37:56)

Carl Schurz Monument, Manhattan (37:57-38:51)

Horse Tamers, Prospect Park, Park Circle, Brooklyn (39:52-40:35)

William Cullen Bryant Memorial, Bryant Park, Manhattan (40:36-41:28)