Photo Record
Images
Metadata
Title |
Frank Price and the Obelisk |
Date |
1918 |
Object ID |
2019.003.008 |
Collection |
Kohler Dosoris Collection |
Description |
Cleopatra's Needle in late 1880s. Frank Price Originally, the seventy foot monument engraved with hieroglypics was one of a pair of obelisks erected outside the temple of the Egyptian sun god RA in the city of Heliopolis, near the beginning of the first millennium. In 1879, the government of Egypt offered the obelisk to the United States as a gesture of friendship. Bringing the obelisk across the Atlantic Ocean to its proposed site in New York City presented quite a challenge. A civil engineer, Frank Price, who lived in Glen Cove, accepted the challenge. He designed the needed equipment and supervised the moving of the obelisk to its new home. A large hole had to be cut in the iron side of the steamer to load the 193 ton obelisk for the trip. A special railway was built from the Hudson River to Central Park. The relocation took an additional 40 days more than expected. Thousands came in 1881 to observe and celebrate the installation of the ancient monument in its new beautiful setting in Central Park. |
Source |
Carl Kohler (deceased) |
Search Terms |
Frank Price Cleopatra's Needle Obelisk Notable People |
Object Name |
Photograph |
Copyright |
This material may be protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17 U.S. Code). For permission to publish or display images please contact the Glen Cove Public Library Robert R. Coles Long Island History Room. |