LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- After 18 months of controversy, a vote was taken Wednesday night regarding the future of the John B. Castleman statue in the Highlands.
One by one, more than a dozen people spoke out at Wednesday night’s Cherokee Triangle Architectural Review Committee Meeting. After Mayor Greg Fischer announced the statue be removed in 2018, the city of Louisville requested the committee to grant a certificate of appropriateness — that way the city could then be free to move the century-old statue outside of the district.
The six-member committee voted in a tie of 3-3. They decided before the meeting that if a tie happened, the vote would ultimately decline the city’s request for removal permission.
For more than a year, the Castleman statue has been the center of controversy. It depicts Castleman, a confederate officer, in civilian clothing. It’s often been vandalized, cleaned up then vandalized again.
During Wednesday's two-hour meeting, those both in favor of the statue staying and its removal spoke out.
“What’s next? We start burning history books because people are offended?” asked John Svodboda, who opposes the removal.
About a dozen people spoke in support of the statue staying, while one person requested the committee remove it.
“What kind of community is this if we allow a statue to remain that no person of color wants to look at in its current location?” Jeffersonville resident Nancy Clayton said.
Some of those in attendance said the back-and-forth is the same thing neighbors in the area have been through for the last 18 months.
“No, I don’t think anyone wins in this," said Walter Christopherson, who lives in Cherokee Triangle. "But I don’t think you should reward people for vandalism."
The issue will now go to the Landmarks Commission for review. No date has been set.
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