The John B. Castleman statue can be removed from the Cherokee Triangle neighborhood where it's rested for decades, the landmarks commission ruled Thursday.
Mayor Greg Fischer called for the Castleman statue to be removed in August, after a commissioned review, arguing that the city should not "maintain statues that serve as validating symbols for racist or bigoted ideology."
But his push hit a roadblock in January, when the Cherokee Triangle Architectural Review Committee, which is made up in part of neighbors of the statue, tied 3-3 in a vote on whether the city should be allowed to move the piece.
Fischer's team appealed that decision, arguing that the Cherokee Triangle panel was wrong and that the "proposed exterior alteration" — removing and relocating the statue — complied with design guidelines.
The Historic Landmarks and Preservation Districts Commission voted 5-3 to side with Fischer's appeal and overturn the Cherokee Triangle Architectural Review Committee's decision.
Before the meeting went to public comment, the chair of the landmarks commission, Chris Hartman, said that under city rules, commissioners are charged with reviewing whether the previous panel's decision was supported by their findings of fact.
But, Hartman said, the panel had not provided any written findings of fact.
Without that, the decision was "clearly erroneous" and shall be overturned, he said.
"As there were no findings of fact, the committee denial is on its face clearly erroneous, as it lacks substantial evidence. Under the law and the bylaws, if we follow them to the letter, it shall be overturned and shall either be approved, the original application, or approved with conditions," Hartman said.
"That is our legal obligation here today."
The past chairman of the Cherokee Triangle panel, Michael Gross, testified during public comment that the panel's legal counsel advised them in January that if no decision was reached, then no findings of fact were necessary.
The landmarks commission decision can be appealed to circuit court.
Sarah Lindgren, the city's public art administrator, said during the hearing that Louisville officials had reached an agreement with Cave Hill Cemetery for that body to take the statue and be responsible for its future care and maintenance. The agreement hadn't been signed, she said, pending the landmarks commission decision.
Another statue caught up in the debate, of George D. Prentice, an anti-immigrant and anti-Catholic founder and editor of the Louisville Journal, was removed last year. The Castleman statue's relocation proved more time-consuming because Cherokee Triangle is a historic preservation district.
A staff report from earlier in January had recommended the committee accept the city's proposal because removing the statue wouldn't change the roundabout structure or streetscape. It recommended, though, that any future public art installations or new construction be reviewed by the committee.
Background: Castleman statue's future in Cherokee Triangle on the line at Thursday appeal hearing
Fischer's decision in August came after a seven-member panel assembled by the mayor created a guiding set of principles for evaluating existing and future public art in the city. That report said displays honoring the Confederacy are unwelcome in Louisville and do not represent what the city looks like today.
"We cannot ignore that Castleman fought to continue the horrific and brutal slavery of men, women and children; heralded that part of his life in his autobiography; and he had his coffin draped with both a U.S. and Confederate flag," he tweeted at the time.
"My threshold question was whether the Castleman statue would be appropriate in a predominately African American neighborhood," he continued. "The answer obviously is NO. It would be viewed as disrespectful of a historic and painful past."
During the yearlong debate, many supporters argued Castleman's life was a complex one that shouldn't be based solely on his service during the Civil War for the Confederacy under John Hunt Morgan, the notorious leader of Morgan's Raiders.
Supporters noted that Castleman helped create Cherokee Park and several other prominent parks in Louisville. Opponents of the statue say he also helped racially segregate those same parks.
Fischer previously moved to Brandenberg, Kentucky, a 121-year-old Confederate monument that once rested on Third Street.
The new location provided an "opportunity to remember and respect our history in a more proper context," Fischer said at the time. "And it's close enough that Louisvillians can visit."
Darcy Costello: 502-582-4834; dcostello@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @dctello. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: www.courier-journal.com/darcyc.
https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/politics/metro-government/2019/05/09/landmarks-commission-john-castleman-statue-can-be-removed-louisville-cherokee-triangle/1146845001/
2019-05-09 15:32:00Z
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