Harriet Tubman statue arrives

There’s a new statue of Harriet Tubman outside the Niagara Falls Under Ground Railroad Heritage Museum. It was lifted into place on Tuesday under the careful supervision of Yonkers-based artist Vinnie Bagwell.

Bagwell promised to send more details about her project because the proposal shows most of the thoughtful elements she included in the design.

The sculpture cost $238,000 and was 4 years overdue after multiple delays in the process. The concept of the art originated in the administration of Mayor Paul Dyster and was completed under  Mayor Robert Restaiono. Funding was coordinated between State Parks taxpayer dollars and Greenway Commission which shares a pittance of NYPA revenues with the city that hosts its tunnels. The project does not appear to have ever been approved by the city council. There were no public meetings for input. 

The sculpture, as spectacular as it is, reflects the artist’s vision unencumbered by input from the public, Heritage Area or museum staff.

Initially, there was a Frederick Douglass statue proposed as well but that initiative stalled.

There were delays every step of the way, including remediation of hazardous waste at the site. Work on its foundation started earlier this summer.

Mayor Robert Restaino and City Administrator Athony Restaino were both present for the installation. No one was there from the Niagara National Heritage Area or the Niagara Falls Underground Railroad museum.

The sculpture itself is spectacular. Bagwell depicted Harriet Tubman as she was when she began as a leader.

“Harriet Tubman was 30 when she began Underground Railroad trips,” Bagwell explained. “Most people think of her as an old woman. She was young. She is running toward the Niagara Falls Bridge.”

Tubman’s dress hides a bas relief narrative depicting her leading people from Niagara Falls as well as the Suspension Bridge. It even includes Braille. You could spend hours studying it.

Bagwell’s ascension to full-time artist was a process. It took her a long time, and multiple other positions in the business world before she could ascend to full-time. Her mother told her she could never make a living as an artist. This installation is vindication.

The statue is at the terminus of the Harriet Tubman Byway, a 172-mile trail from Auburn, where Tubman was born, to Niagara Falls. The Byway is administered by the Heritage Area but also had no input on the installation at its terminus.

In an added development, Heritage Area Executive Director Sara Capen said her organization decided this week not to move forward with redevelopment of the church at Main and Lockport streets.

Capen previously told the Express grant funding was in place for the redevelopment of the building but said Tuesday “we gave it our best but I am not confident with the city as a partner in this.”