Eakins Oval

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At the end of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, just in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, is Eakins Oval. The loop of road is usually host to a large volume of traffic as it connects the core of the city with Fairmount Park, Kelly Drive and Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive (formerly West River Drive). During holiday parades and other major municipal events, such as the Thanksgiving Day Parade, it is shut down to automobile traffic and it becomes the center stage for the gathering.

The oval is named for Thomas Eakins, Philadelphia resident, world famous realist painter, and fine arts educator.

The southeastern side of the oval is used as a parking lot.

[edit] The Washington Monument

Washington Monument at Eakins Oval

Just inside the northwest edge of Eakins Oval, in front of the Philadelphia Museum Art stairs, resides the Washington Monument fountain. It was commissioned and designed by sculptor Rudolf Siemering. The sculpture was dedicated in 1897 at the Green Street entrance to Fairmount Park. It was moved in 1928 to its present location after construction on the parkway was completed. In 1997, work began to restore the statue under the direction of Margo Berg of the Philadelphia Art Commission. Over the years, the sculture had loosened from its base, and the fountain had ceased to function properly. The restoration was completed in June of the same year, 100 years after it was dedicated.

The bronze and granite sculpture features a uniformed George Washington mounted on a horse. Washington and his horse are poised on top of the fountain, facing southeast down the Benjamin Franklin Parkway towards Philadelphia City Hall. The face of the sculpture was made from an impression made of the former president while he was still alive. The lowest level of the monument features animals and plants that are native to the country.