Lee Circle is a central traffic circle in New Orleans, Louisiana, which featured a monument to Confederate General Robert E. Lee between 1884 and 2017. It is located at the intersection of St. Charles and Howard Avenues. Prior to the erection of the monument, the location was known as Tivoli Circle or Place du Tivoli. Tivoli Circle was an important, central point in the city, as it linked upriver areas with downriver areas. It was a common local meeting point and the site remains a popular place to gather for Mardi Gras parades.
Video Lee Circle
Renaming controversies
On July 31, 1877, "Lee Place" within "Tivoli Circle" was authorized by Ordinance A.S. 4064 Although the traffic circle is commonly referred to as "Lee Circle", this ordinance makes clear that the "enclosure" containing the statue is to be known as "Lee Place", while the circle is to continue to be known as "Tivoli Circle". This ordinance contains no reference to the name "Lee Circle".
On June 24, 2015, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu acknowledged the impact of the June 2015 Charleston church shooting but credited a 2014 conversation with New Orleans jazz ambassador Wynton Marsalis for his decision to call for the removal of the Lee statue and renaming of Lee Circle and other city memorials of Confederate slaveholders.
As part of a sixty-day period for public input, two city commissions called for the removal of four monuments associated with the Confederacy, the Lee statue, statues of Jefferson Davis and P.G.T. Beauregard, and an obelisk commemorating the "Battle of Liberty Place". Governor Bobby Jindal opposed the removals.
On December 17, 2015, the New Orleans City Council voted to remove four statues from public display, among them the statue of Robert E. Lee located in Lee Circle. Four organizations immediately filed a lawsuit in federal court the day of the decision and the City administration has agreed that no monument removals will take place before a court hearing scheduled for January 14, 2016.
Maps Lee Circle
Removal of the Lee statue
On May 18, 2017, the City of New Orleans announced that the statue would be removed at 9 a.m. the following day. This would be the fourth and final Confederate memorial to be removed by the city following a vote by the city council in 2015. The city also announced that the war memorial statue would be replaced with a water feature.
The Lee statue was removed on the evening of May 19, 2017, at 6 p.m. C.D.T., a departure from the other removals which occurred during early morning hours under the cover of darkness.
See also
- Robert E. Lee Monument (New Orleans, Louisiana)
- List of streets of New Orleans
References
Further reading
- Brock, R. A., ed. (1886). "Ceremonies Connected with the Unveiling of the Statue of General Robert E. Lee at Lee Circle, New Orleans, February 22, 1884". Southern Historical Society Papers. 14. Southern Historical Society. pp. 62-96.
- Brock, R. A., ed. (1886). "Historical Sketch of the R.E. Lee Monumental Association of New Orleans". Southern Historical Society Papers. 14. Southern Historical Society. pp. 96-99.
- Kane, Harnett (1961). Place du Tivoli: A History of Lee Circle. Boston: John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company. Published on the occasion of the dedication of the John Hancock Building (now known as K&B Plaza), New Orleans, LA, December 7, 1961.
- Kingsley, Karen (2003). Buildings of Louisiana. Buildings of the United States. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 112-113. ISBN 978-0195159998.
- Larino, Jennifer (June 24, 2015). "The history of New Orleans' Lee Circle". New Orleans, LA: The Times-Picayune. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
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