LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The concrete pedestal rising above a roundabout at the corner of Cherokee Parkway and Cherokee Road has been empty for more than three years now.
For decades, a large statue of John B. Castleman on horseback stood in the Cherokee Triangle neighborhood. It was a landmark and meeting spot for local residents and park-goers, but its removal in 2020 left an open space. Now, neighborhood leaders are trying to fill it.
Former Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer announced the removal of the Castleman and George Prentice statues in 2018, saying they served as racist symbols. The Prentice statue was removed from its spot in front of the downtown library in December 2018. On May 9, 2019, Louisville's Landmark Commission voted to remove the Castleman statue. It was eventually removed in 2020.
"We want to ensure all members of our community feel welcome in our public parks," said Megan Metcalf, deputy general counsel for Mayor Craig Greenberg's Office.
Louisville's planning commission met Thursday to discuss a plan from the mayor's office to permanently remove the Castleman statue in the wake of grassroots efforts to return it to Cherokee Triangle. But, given the nature of the removal, the board members don't feel like it's their place to decide on the intent of the statue.
Ultimately, they voted not to take action on the proposal Thursday, which means, in 60 days, it can never come back. And that shifts the discussion to what comes next for the empty concrete pedestal.
"It's not a pretty empty space," said Shawn Curry, who lives nearby. "I think it has the opportunity to see something pretty go there."
Curry and his dog, Dewey, often take strolls by the roundabout. He said he misses seeing art on their walks.
"I liked what was there," Curry said. "I thought it was very beautiful, and kind of spoke to the neighborhood."
He's also seen several things temporarily take the statue's place, including an inflatable horse, a Christmas tree and a horseshoe around Kentucky Derby season.
"I hate to see it be a hedge turnaround," he said. "I vote for putting a statue of Dewey up there."
Friends of Louisville Public Art is advocating for a memorial in a median near the former site of the statue honoring more than a dozen Black leaders who fought against segregation of Louisville's park system. According to the group, Castleman redeemed himself later in life, renouncing the Confederate cause, calling on white soldiers to salute Black officers in World War I and helping to establish Louisville’s park system.
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- Kentucky Supreme Court rules controversial Castleman statue was improperly removed from Cherokee Triangle
- Castleman statue removed from Cherokee Triangle
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