From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Statue in Central Park, Manhattan, New York, U.S.
A
bronze
statue of
Balto
by
Frederick Roth
is installed in
Central Park
,
Manhattan
, New York. Balto (1919 ? March 14, 1933) was an
Alaskan husky
and sled dog belonging to
musher
and breeder
Leonhard Seppala
.
[1]
[2]
He achieved fame when he reportedly led a team of sled dogs on the final leg of the
1925 serum run to Nome
, in which
diphtheria
antitoxin
was transported from
Anchorage, Alaska
, to
Nenana, Alaska
, by train and then to
Nome
by
dog sled
to combat an outbreak of the disease.
[3]
[4]
Description and history
[
edit
]
Located north of the
Central Park Zoo
near the intersection of East Drive and 67th Street, the sculpture was dedicated on December 17, 1925.
[5]
[6]
Roth modeled the sculpture of Balto on a New Hampshire malamute named Chinook. A bas-relief rendering of the pivotal journey is carved into the pedestal. Balto himself was reportedly present at the ceremony.
[7]
The statue is a popular attraction: children frequently climb the statue to pretend to ride on the dog.
[8]
There is a plaque at the base of the statue, which reads:
"Dedicated to the indomitable spirit of the sled dogs that relayed antitoxin six hundred miles over rough ice, across treacherous waters, through Arctic blizzards from
Nenana
to the relief of stricken
Nome
in the Winter of 1925. Endurance · Fidelity · Intelligence".
[5]
Legacy
[
edit
]
The statue was used at the ending scene of the 1995
Universal Pictures
animated film
Balto
. In September 2022, actor
Kevin Bacon
(who did the voice of Balto in the animated film) visited the statue during a walk. He posted a short video of himself endearingly commenting on the statue and his film role on his social media accounts, entitling the short video "Ran into an old friend of mine in the park #Balto".
[9]
In 2019, the cast and crew of the film
The Great Alaskan Race
paid a visit to the statue.
[10]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Thomas, Bob. (2015).
Leonhard Seppala : the Siberian dog and the golden age of sleddog racing 1908-1941
. Thomas, Pat. Missoula, Montana: Pictorial Histories Publishing Company.
ISBN
978-1-57510-170-5
.
OCLC
931927411
.
- ^
Seppala, Leonhard. (2010).
Seppala : Alaskan dog driver
. Ricker, Elizabeth M. [Whitefish, Mont.]: [Kessinger Publishing]. p. 295.
ISBN
978-1-4374-9088-6
.
OCLC
876188456
.
- ^
Salisbury, Gay; Laney Salisbury (2003).
The Cruelest Miles: The Heroic Story of Dogs and Men in a Race against an Epidemic
. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. pp.
187
.
ISBN
0-393-01962-4
.
- ^
Ingram, Simon (19 May 2020).
"When a deadly disease gripped an Alaskan town, a dog saved the day ? but history hailed another"
.
National Geographic
.
Archived
from the original on 18 May 2021
. Retrieved
14 March
2021
.
- ^
a
b
"Central Park ? Balto"
. New York City Department of Parks & Recreation.
Archived
from the original on 2019-03-27
. Retrieved
2020-02-23
.
- ^
"Balto"
.
www.centralpark.com
. 2017-08-07.
Archived
from the original on 2024-04-15
. Retrieved
2020-02-23
.
- ^
Dupre, Judith (2007).
Monuments: America's History in Art and Memory
(1st ed.). New York: Random House. p. 97.
ISBN
978-1-4000-6582-0
.
OCLC
70046094
.
Archived
from the original on 2021-10-19
. Retrieved
2021-09-27
.
- ^
"Balto"
.
Attractions
. Central Park.Com.
Archived
from the original on March 13, 2013
. Retrieved
March 4,
2013
.
- ^
Sanwari, Ahad (September 8, 2022).
"Kevin Bacon shares video of endearing encounter - and his fans are surprised"
. Hello! Magazine.
Archived
from the original on August 4, 2023
. Retrieved
August 4,
2023
.
- ^
Coburn, Wesley (October 22, 2019).
"Central Park Balto statue visited by dog of The Great Alaskan Race"
. Fansided.
Archived
from the original on August 4, 2023
. Retrieved
August 4,
2023
.
External links
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edit
]
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Key
: † No longer extant or on public display
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