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Charles A. Lindbergh Memorial, St. Paul

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“Charles A. Lindbergh—The Boy and the Man”

Paul Granlund’s statue “Charles A. Lindbergh—The Boy and the Man,” installed on the grounds of the Minnesota State Capitol. Photograph by Flickr user Cliff, June 6, 2008. CC BY 2.0

On May 24, 1985, the sculpture “Charles Lindbergh—The Boy and The Man” by Paul T. Granlund was dedicated in front of a crowd of approximately 1,000 people on the grounds of the Minnesota State Capitol. Commissioned by the Lindbergh Fund and the Minnesota Historical Society, it honored the aviator’s 1927 transatlantic flight and his childhood roots in Minnesota. It did not address Lindbergh’s support of American isolationism and antisemitism leading up to World War II—additional dimensions of his complex legacy.

In August 1984, the Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS) made an agreement with sculptor Paul T. Granlund to create a sculpture of Charles A. Lindbergh in honor of his 1927 transatlantic flight. Extant sources do not show who first proposed the idea, but contributors included the Charles A. Lindbergh Fund, then headquartered in Minnesota; MNHS Director Russell Fridley (who had developed a friendship with Lindbergh during the development of Lindbergh’s childhood home as a historic site); and former Minnesota governor Elmer L. Andersen. Funds were raised through individual donations to the Minnesota Historical Society to cover the $65,000 commission fee plus the costs of final installation. The committee requested that the sculpture be installed on the grounds of the Minnesota State Capitol, and the Capitol Area Architectural and Planning Board (CAAPB) approved its choice.

At the time of his commission, Paul T. Granlund was the sculptor-in-residence at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, where he specialized in a sculptural process called lost-wax bronze casting. In considering how to capture the aviator, Granlund said, “What these resources revealed to me was that while Lindbergh’s heroic flight was epic in character his boyhood years in Little Falls had a lyric quality. I decided to combine the lyric and the epic qualities in a double portrait of Lindbergh the boy and the man.”

On Saturday, May 25, 1985, Granlund’s sculpture of Lindbergh, titled “Charles Lindbergh—The Boy and The Man” was unveiled on the grounds of the Minnesota State Capitol as part of Lindbergh Heritage Week. Approximately 1,000 people present attended the dedication, including Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Reeve Lindbergh Brown, and Elizabeth Brown—Charles Lindbergh’s wife, daughter, and granddaughter.

When asked for her reaction to the sculpture, Anne Morrow Lindbergh responded, “It’s a beautiful piece, very much alive. He’s there. His spirit is there...I don’t always see my husband in the pieces of sculpture that have been done, but he’s there—the spirit of the man is in it.” The Associated Press image of Anne Lindbergh holding the hand of the sculpture depicting her husband appeared in newspapers across the nation. The sculpture and the quotes surrounding it are intended to honor Lindbergh’s contributions to aviation.

Two years later, coinciding with the sixtieth anniversary of Lindbergh’s transatlantic flight, two additional castings of Granlund’s sculpture were dedicated. In May 1987, a sculpture was dedicated at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, as a gift from the Charles A. Lindbergh Fund and the State of Minnesota to the people of France. In September, a sculpture was dedicated in San Diego to recognize that the Spirit of St. Louis was built in that city.

While most reactions to the sculpture were positive, some were concerned with its place of honor in light of Lindbergh’s antisemitic comments leading up to World War II. A letter to the editor of the Minneapolis Star and Tribune published in 1987 stated,

“I am disappointed that the Minnesota Department of Development has chosen to spend $50,000 of state money on the “Lindbergh—Man and Boy” [sic] statue in Paris. The link between the statue in Paris and tourism in Minnesota will be tenuous, at best...I am further offended that the state is willing to spend our money to honor a man who once said: ‘The greatest danger of Jewish power lies in their large ownership and influence in our motion pictures, our press, our radio and our government.’ Charles Lindbergh was not ‘the world’s greatest hero.’ He was a human being with faults who was courageous in his successful crossing of the Atlantic Ocean.”

In June of 2020, the toppling of a memorial to Christopher Columbus installed on the Capitol grounds renewed conversations about the appropriateness of other monuments on the site, including “The Boy and the Man.” Steve Hunegs, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas, stated in July, “There are many different Charles Lindberghs, he’s a complicated personality. The Jewish view of Lindbergh is profoundly disturbed over all these years by his rhetoric in favor of America First.”

Editor's note: This article uses the unhyphenated spelling "antisemitism" instead of the more common "anti-Semitism" in response to the recommendations of the Anti-Defamation League, the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, among others.

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Associated Press. “A Touching Moment.” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, May 26, 1985.

——— . “Minnesota Unveils Statue of Famous Flier.” Argus-Leader, May 26, 1985.

Bierschbach, Briana. “Monumental Decisions: Toppling of Capitol Statue Triggers Exam of Others.” Minneapolis Star Tribune, July 6, 2020.
https://m.startribune.com/stay-or-go-debate-grows-over-statues-at-minnesota-capitol/570671081

Bloom, Jeff. “A Minnesotan in Paris.” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, February 13, 1987.

“Boschwitz Seeks to Bring ‘Spirit of St. Louis’ to Minnesota.” Winona Daily, May 1, 1985.

First, Jay. “Granlund Work Salutes a Legend.” Pioneer Press and Dispatch, June 9, 1985.

Flanagas, Barbara. “Pioneer’s Partner Recalls Excitement, Beauty of Early Flight.” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, May 25, 1985.

CAMC Collection 12
Collection of Paul T. Granlund, 1945–2006
Gustavus Adolphus College Archives, St. Peter
Description: The collection of Paul T. Granlund contains correspondence, articles, clippings, photographs, negatives, and slides regarding his artwork, shows, and commissions. See especially Granlund's “‘Charles Lindbergh: the Boy and the Man’ Dedication Speech at Minnesota State Capitol, June 9 [May 25], 1985.”
https://gustavus.edu/library/archives/concertFiles/media/camc/CAMC0012.pdf

Hudson, Norma. “Sculpture Captures the Lindbergh Spirit as Boy, Man.” Morrison County Record, Lindbergh Heritage Edition, 1985.

Inskip, Leonard. “Appropriate Honors for Minnesota’s Most Famous Son.” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, May 12, 1985.

Lindbergh Heritage Week. Annual Meeting Files. Minnesota Historical Society institutional archives, St. Paul.

Lindbergh Memorial. Library/Archives Division: Art Curator Tom Sullivan. Minnesota Historical Society institutional archives, St. Paul.

Monsour, Theresa. “Hero Gives Flight to Sculptor’s Work.” Pioneer Press and Dispatch, May 26, 1985.

“Proposal for the Commissioning of a Sculpture Created by Paul T. Granlund.” Mall statuary files, Minnesota State Capitol Historic Site Archives, St. Paul.

Related Images

“Charles A. Lindbergh—The Boy and the Man”
“Charles A. Lindbergh—The Boy and the Man”
Black and white photograph of Charles Lindbergh with “Spirit of St. Louis,” c.1927.
Black and white photograph of Charles Lindbergh with “Spirit of St. Louis,” c.1927.
Black and white photograph of Charles Augustus Lindbergh, c.1927.
Black and white photograph of Charles Augustus Lindbergh, c.1927.
Paul Granlund with his sculpture, Russell Fridley, and Elmer L. Andersen
Paul Granlund with his sculpture, Russell Fridley, and Elmer L. Andersen
Paul Granlund looking at a map of St. Paul with Russell Fridley and Elmer L. Andersen
Paul Granlund looking at a map of St. Paul with Russell Fridley and Elmer L. Andersen
Paul Granlund with Russell Fridley and Elmer L. Andersen
Paul Granlund with Russell Fridley and Elmer L. Andersen
“Charles A. Lindbergh—The Boy and the Man”
“Charles A. Lindbergh—The Boy and the Man”
Inscription at the base of “Charles A. Lindbergh: The Boy and the Man”
Inscription at the base of “Charles A. Lindbergh: The Boy and the Man”
“Charles A. Lindbergh: The Boy and the Man”
“Charles A. Lindbergh: The Boy and the Man”

Turning Point

In a ceremony attended by approximately 1,000 people, the sculpture “Charles Lindbergh—The Boy and The Man” is unveiled in St. Paul on May 25, 1985.

Chronology

1927

On May 21, Lindbergh completes his solo, nonstop transatlantic flight by landing at Le Bourget Airport in Paris. He travels 3,610 miles in 33.5 hours and becomes the first person to do so, earning the Orteig Prize.

1941

On September 11, Lindbergh gives his “Who Are the War Agitator’s” speech in which he names the British, the Jews, and the Roosevelt Administration as the three most important groups pushing the country toward war.

1969

The Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS) takes over management of Charles Lindbergh’s childhood home in Little Falls, Minnesota.

1969–1973

Lindbergh makes several visits to Minnesota to help develop the historic site and museum in Little Falls. During this time he develops a friendship with MNHS director Russell Fridley.

1974

Lindbergh dies at his home on August 26, in Hana, Maui, Hawaii, of lymphatic cancer at the age of seventy two.

1984

In August, MNHS and the Charles A. Lindbergh Fund commission sculptor Paul T. Granlund to create a sculpture for the Minnesota State Capitol Mall of Charles A. Lindbergh featuring the young boy and the aviator for $65,000.

1985

May 20–26 is declared Lindbergh Heritage Week by Minnesota Governor Rudy Perpich. Events are coordinated by the Charles A. Lindbergh Fund.

1985

On May 25, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, widow of Charles Lindbergh, unveils the sculpture “Charles Lindbergh—The Boy and the Man” by Paul T. Granlund on the Minnesota State Capitol grounds.

1987

In May, a second casting of “The Boy and The Man” sculpture is dedicated in Le Bourget, France, in honor of the sixtieth anniversary of Lindbergh’s transcontinental flight. The sculpture is a gift from the State of Minnesota to the people of France.

1987

In September, a third casting of “The Boy and The Man” sculpture is dedicated in San Diego and purchased by the T. Claude Ryan family and Teledyne Ryan Aeronautical. Ryan Airlines built Lindbergh’s plane “The Spirit of St. Louis.”

2020

Local and national conversations about public monuments bring into question the appropriateness of the Lindbergh sculpture on the grounds of the Minnesota State Capitol due to Lindbergh’s antisemitism.