 The statue in 2019 | |
 Interactive map ofMillard Fillmore | |
| Location | Buffalo City Hall,Buffalo, New York, United States |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 42°53′10″N78°52′45″W / 42.88611°N 78.87917°W /42.88611; -78.87917 |
| Designer | Bryant Baker |
| Type | Statue |
| Material | Bronze Granite |
| Length | 5 feet (1.5 m) |
| Width | 5 feet (1.5 m) |
| Height | 14 feet 6 inches (4.42 m) |
| Completion date | 1930 |
| Dedicated date | July 1, 1932; 93 years ago (July 1, 1932) |
| Dedicated to | Millard Fillmore |
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|---|---|---|
12th Vice President of the United States 13th President of the United States Electoral history   | ||
Millard Fillmore is amonumental statue inBuffalo, New York, United States. The statue, located outside ofBuffalo City Hall, was designed by sculptorBryant Baker. It honorsMillard Fillmore, the 13thpresident of the United States who lived in Buffalo. It was dedicated on July 1, 1932, in conjunction with a nearby statue ofGrover Cleveland, another former president from Buffalo, which was also designed by Bryant Baker.
Millard Fillmore was born in 1800 in theFinger Lakes area ofupstate New York.[1] In the 1820s, he moved to theBuffalo metropolitan area and beganpracticing law.[1] After moving toBuffalocity proper, he began a career in politics, holding positions in theNew York State Assembly and theUnited States Congress, among other offices.[1] In 1849, he became thevice president of the United States underZachary Taylor and, after Taylor's death in 1850, he became thepresident.[1] In the1852 presidential election, theWhig Party decided against nominating Fillmore as their candidate, and as a result, after finishing his term, he returned to Buffalo, where he eventually died in 1874.[1]
As president, Fillmore has a poor or unremarkable reputation amongst the general American public,[2][3] primarily due to his stance onslavery.[1] Although personally opposed to the institution, as president he signed into law theFugitive Slave Act of 1850 as part of the largerCompromise of 1850, which mandated that escaped slaves infree states be returned to their owners in slave states.[1] However, in Buffalo, Fillmore enjoyed a large amount of public support due to his actions in the community,[2][3] as he was a founder of theUniversity at Buffalo and was influential in establishing numerous public institutions in the city, such as several museums and libraries.[1]
A public statue honoring Fillmore was part of the original overall plans for the design ofBuffalo City Hall.[4]Bryant Baker, a world-renowned sculptor based inNew York City,[5] designed the statue,[2][3] as well as a nearby statue ofGrover Cleveland, another president from Buffalo.[5][6] Both of these statues were crafted in 1930 and dedicated at the same time on July 1, 1932.[5][7] The Fillmore statue was paid for by a $25,000 (equivalent to $471,000 in 2024) appropriation from theNew York State Legislature.[5]
In 1992, the statue was surveyed as part of theSave Outdoor Sculpture! initiative.[7]
In July 2020,The Spectrum, thestudent newspaper of the University at Buffalo, published an opinion piece from Professor Robert Silverman of the university's Department of Regional and Urban Planning advocating for the removal of the statue and other public honors to Fillmore.[8] The opinion piece was published following theBuffalo police shoving incident that occurred near the statue amidst the then-ongoingGeorge Floyd protests and argued that Fillmore's legacy included supportingslave patrols and opposing civil rights forfreedmen following theAmerican Civil War.[8] This opinion piece followed a 2015 request from the localNAACP chapter in Buffalo asking the city to cease naming things in honor of Fillmore.[1] In response, in 2020,Buffalo MayorByron Brown requested the city government to review all of the city's public monuments.[1]
The monument consists of abronze statue of Fillmore atop agranitepedestal.[7] The statue is roughly 9 feet (2.7 m) tall and occupies a square base with side measurements of 3 ft (0.91 m), while the pedestal is 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) and has length and width measurements of 5 ft (1.5 m) each.[7] Fillmore stands wearing aPrince Albert coat and acloak.[7] The bottom front of the statue's bronze bears the sculptor's marks signature and year ("Bryant Baker 1932"), while the pedestal bears the following inscriptions:[7]
MILLARD FILLMORE / 1800-1874 / 13th PRESIDENT OF / THE U.S. / LAWYER / EDUCATOR / PHILANTHROPIST / STATESMAN
— Front
E. PLURIBUS UNUM
— Left
Erected by / the State of New York / to honor an illustrious / citizen of Buffalo
— Rear
Additionally, the right side of the pedestal bears the city'sseal.[7]
The statue is situated in a triangular plot outside of the city hall,[6] at the southeast corner to the left of the front entrance.[2][3][7] The statue of Cleveland is situated in a triangular plot on the other side of the entrance.[6]
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Media related toStatue of Millard Fillmore at Buffalo City Hall at Wikimedia Commons
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