The Spirit Of Detroit
Description
The Spirit of Detroit is a monument with a large bronze statue created by Marshall Fredericks and located at the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center on Woodward Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. Fredericks also designed the seal of Wayne County at the time he was designing The Spirit of Detroit, as it was a part of the work and the county had no seal at the time. The seal is still used today and is also featured on the county's flag. Cast in Oslo, Norway, the 26-foot (7.9 m), 9-ton sculpture sits on a 60-ton marble base and it was the largest cast bronze statue since the Renaissance.
In its left hand, the large seated figure holds a gilt bronze sphere emanating rays to symbolize God. The people in the figure's right hand are a family group symbolizing all human relationships.
Fredericks did not originally name the sculpture and the name came from the citizens of Detroit based on an inscription from 2 Corinthians (3:17) on the marble wall behind it, underneath the seals of Wayne County and the City of Detroit:
"NOW THE LORD IS THAT SPIRIT
AND WHERE THE SPIRIT OF THE
LORD IS, THERE IS LIBERTY."
II CORINTHIANS 3:17
The 36 x 45 foot semicircular wall includes the seals of the City of Detroit and Wayne County. The Wayne County seal was created by Fredericks specifically for The Spirit of Detroit, as the county did not have a seal beforehand. A plaque in front of the sculpture bears the following inscription: "The artist expresses the concept that God, through the spirit of man, is manifested in the family, the noblest human relationship."
History
The sculpture was commissioned on August 2, 1955 for a cost of $58,000 (equivalent to $415,000 in 2023). Fredericks considered the statue to be part of his civic responsibility and waived the commissioning cost. As part of the design of the divine elements of the sculpture, Fredericks met with several religious groups. Fredericks shipped a scale model from the United States to Oslo, Norway for casting. After casting, the sculpture underwent acidic treatments for several weeks to oxidize the bronze and to create the warm, aged green color. the thickness of the bronze is 3/8 inches up to 1.5 inches. Steel framework was constructed to protect the sculpture during transport. Additional protection for the sculpture was provided using wooden beams, wooden platforms, and burlap covering, for a total shipping weight of 12 tons. For shipping, the sculpture was placed facedown onto a wooden platform. The sculpture was transported by the Fjell Line, who chartered the German freighter Thomas Schulte. After the 4,800 mile journey across the Atlantic Ocean and through the Saint Lawrence Seaway, the freighter arrived at the Port of Detroit on September 20, 1958. The Thomas Schulte was the only freighter with sufficient below deck storage space to accommodate the sculpture while still being able to navigate the Saint Lawrence Seaway.
As part of the shipment, four miniature scale models of the sculpture were included to aid with customs clearance. The sculpture was delivered to the Detroit City-County Building (now the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center) and installed onto the marble base for the September 23, 1958 dedication ceremony.
The Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum has the original plaster head for The Spirit of Detroit, as well as a quarter-scale plaster model.
The sculpture has regular maintenance, as well as restorations. Once a year, the sculpture is cleaned with non-ionic, biogradable detergents and customized petroleum-based waxes are used for protection. The annual maintenance also includes applying heat to the bronze surface and cupric nitrate in order to preserve the green color and patina. In 1984, the sculpture was covered in plastic while the marble panels behind the statue were replaced. The statue underwent a restoration in 2006, funded by foundations and other private donations.
For the sculpture's 50th anniversary, funds from operational savings and energy conservation totalling $170,000 were used for restoration improvements. In 2018, the sculpture had routine maintenance completed which involved touching up the green patina, as well as the gold figures and sphere. On September 21, 2018, the City of Detroit had a ceremony to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the sculpture.
In 2017, Spirit Plaza was initially constructed and subsequent upgrades completed in 2019 and paid for by $800,000 in bond funds have yielded a 20,000 square-foot plaza with a playground, stationary musical instruments, tables, chairs, vehicle charging stations, and drinking fountains.
In 2013 art dealer and art historian Eric Ian Hornak Spoutz was quoted in The Detroit News stating that the value of the statue is in excess of $1 million. In 2017, the Detroit-Wayne Joint Building Authority said that based on the most recent appraisal of the sculpture, it would cost $6 million to repair significant damage.