I grew up and live in Boston’s western suburbs, which means that most of the North Shore and South Shore suburbs are nearly as foreign to me as the Solomon Islands. I think I’ve been to the Liberty Tree Mall in Danvers, but only once or twice. And I had no idea that its centerpiece for two decades was this piece of public art commemorating Liberty Tree in Boston.According to the Boston Globe obituary for artist Albert A. Surman, he designed that tree for the New England pavilion of the 1964 World’s Fair in New York.
“He created the large-scale sculpture, a stylized tree composed of thousands of metal tubes as the centerpiece of his design for the New England pavilion,’’ said his son, Barry S. of Scarsdale, N.Y. “It symbolized an actual tree where the Sons of Liberty posted notices until it was chopped down by the British in the early days of the American Revolution. The sculpture’s multicolored glass leaves reflected New England’s famous fall colors.’’After the fair, the tree was moved to Boston Common, as shown above in the Globe file photo. After being refurbished, from 1972 to 1992 it was the anchor for the Liberty Tree Mall.
Which is somewhat ironic since Liberty Tree was originally used to promote consumer boycotts. Okay, that’s not as ironic as the Huck Finn Shopping Center in Hannibal, Missouri (“Hey, let’s name the mall after a poor homeless kid!”), but it shows how we Americans can eventually harness nearly everything to commerce.
According to the mall and the Surman family, however, the tree has now disappeared. Anyone on the North Shore know where it is? Anyone?
This is almost as silly as the Myles Standish Mall in Plymouth, located right on the exit for Rt. 44 off Rt. 3. Everytime I go down the highway and pass this sign, I have to laugh.
ReplyDeleteJust outside of Wilmington, DE, on Rte 202 is Independence Mall - a strip mall centered by a compressed reproduction of the real Independence Hall. It's...something.
ReplyDeleteI love the Independence Mall, especially at night! Though in the daytime there’s also the ironic pleasure of seeing how many of the shops are designed around goods and foods from other countries.
ReplyDeleteI guess I haven’t been to the Independence Mall for a while. I just visited its website and found that stores like A Taste of Scotland are no longer there. At least the anchor is still the Melting Pot fondue restaurant, with its Liberty Bell replica.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Florida is void of almost anything of colonial-era, we DO celebrate Gasparilla Days, named after the pirate Jose Gaspar, who pillaged, raped and robbed his way into 20th century hearts here. It also is a huge commercial success as well as a local holiday.
ReplyDeleteSince it’s October, I can point out how the Salem witch trials were a century-long embarrassment for Salem and all of Massachusetts, but now the engine of the city’s tourist trade—and modern Salem isn’t even where the trouble started.
ReplyDeleteNever knew about this sculpture. I have to say, it's hardly an attractive homage to one of our great historical symbols. Maybe it's for the best that it's gone!
ReplyDeleteMr. Bell, If I remember correctly this "liberty tree" was stored for awhile behind the current 'Yale Electric' building. While driving on Rte.93 south it was very visible. Of course, as this was some time ago (years) it was probably after the Common display and before the Mall installment.
ReplyDeleteI was scared dead of this tree as a little kid when it was in the mall. I used to call it the dead tree.
ReplyDeleteThe top booby prize goes to the guy in marketing at the MBTA that used Charlie as a mascot for their ""Charliecard". Charlie is from an old folk song the homeless buskers sang in the stations about a passenger that got forever lost somewhere on the transit line and didn't have enough money to get back out!
ReplyDeleteNo, Charlie was created as part of a political campaign in which a fare increase on the subway was an issue. Then made famous by the Kingston Trio during the folk music boom. How many other subway systems can boast a personal mascot?
ReplyDeleteWhy the mall made the decision to remove this iconic piece of art is questionable. How do you lose a huge object like this anyways? If found, it would be nice to reinstall it at center court, restoring the mall to its former glory. I petition Simon Property Group to set up a commission to design a new sculpture, if the original can't be found.
ReplyDelete