Charging Bull at Bowling Green Photo Worth a Million Words

How famous can one work of art become ?

Sicilian American sculptor Arturo DiModica has established a new standard with his

" Charging Bull "

Standing now for over 15 years in the exact same location at the southern tip of Broadway, In Lower Manhattan, at Bowling Green Park, DiModica's 3 1/2 ton bronze figure of a Bull, officially named "Charging Bull" has without a doubt attracted more visitors than any work of art on Earth currently, and is the most famous representation of an animal ever created.

It is a contemporary tribute to the impact of Italian creativity over the Centuries.

The story of the creation of "Charging Bull" and its placement in Lower Manhattan is legendary in its own right and as well has led to all kinds of wild stories that have no reality to them at all. Having been proud to be intimately involved it is worth setting the record correctly and taking this opportunity to praise the Creativity of a modern day Italian Master Arturo DiModica.

It is a Story worth knowing.

Back in the summer and fall of 1989, and before I had ever met Arturo, he decided to sculpt a larger than life figure of a Bull at his own expense, without a commission, at his studio on Crosby Street in SoHo, just north of Canal Street in New York City.

A studio DiModica built with his own hands out of a garbage strewn lot he acquired upon his arrival in America in the mid 1970s, and after artistic success back in Sicily where he was born, and throughout Italy.

Having completed, and then cast his huge figure of a Bull in a local foundry and carefully welded the individual pieces back in his studio - it now being early December 1989, Arturo decided to do something spectacular with his creation.

With very detailed planning and the assistance of a group of friends, Arturo decided to secretly place the still unnamed sculpture in front of the New York Stock Exchange on Broad Street as a unique way of introducing it to the world.

Having timed the movements of the NYSE guards, and with far far less security back in 1989, late at night, after midnight, in the early hours of Friday, December 15,1989, Arturo and friends and a flat bed truck with a hoist arm attached, with the Bull covered with tarps, silently pulled in front of the NYSE on Broad Street.

To Arturo's surprise they were greeted by the sight of the large annual NYSE Christmas Tree, which had just been erected only after Arturo's surveillance which Arturo had not anticipated. In a moment of brilliance Arturo decided to place the Bull directly under the base of the Tree like a giant Christmas gift.

According to Arturo the entire operation of removing the Bull from the flat bed and carefully placing him on Broad Street took a few brief moments and he and his crew quickly departed before the NYSE guards or anyone else saw them.

That set the stage for one of the strangest news mornings in New York City history. And where I entered the story.

I awoke in Brooklyn early that morning to the lead story on all the radio stations being reports from incredulous reporters on site in front of the New York Stock Exchange awe struck trying to describe this huge bronze figure which had "magically" appeared over night under the Christmas Tree at the Exchange.

Eager to see for myself, as usual I arrived in Lower Manhattan at the Wall Street station of the IRT 7th Avenue line and walked up Wall Street to Broad and like everyone else could not believe my eyes.

There was a large crowd as well as media starring in disbelief at something that had no comparison in anyone's experience. This huge Bull under the Christmas Tree seemingly pulling the Tree behind it and charging up Broad Street toward Wall Street and Federal Hall. What an image it made !

Once I pulled myself away and to my office at the Bowling Green Association on Lower Broadway, I could not stop thinking about the Bull and as well monitored reports as the media tried to figure out exactly why it was there and who had put it there.

During the morning it also became clear the Exchange and then Chief Operating Officer Richard Grasso were not happy with the "unauthorized" figure under 'their' Tree and in front of the Exchange. At that point I received a phone call from Jill Mainelli. a senior official at the NYC Parks Dept. who I knew who suggested the Bull might look great at Bowling Green.

I dismissed the idea believing the Bull was just too big to fit here. But as the day wore on and I began to judge its size better I became enthusiastic about the idea but still without any information on which to act.

Then in one of my visits to see the Bull that afternoon at about 5PM, and in spite of numerous calls flooding the Exchange, including mine, to leave the Bull under the Christmas Tree, and in the face of the City's refusal to remove it, most likely Richard Grasso himself, ordered equipment to the site and as I watched they lifted the Bull onto a flatbed truck and drove off to the disappointment of the large crowd which had been building all day.

That appeared to be the end of the Story.

Except that on Saturday morning, December 16, 1989, when I reached my newsstand in Brooklyn I was greeted by the front page of the New York Post and a banner headline ....

BAH, HUMBUG !
N.Y. Stock Exchange grinches
can't bear Christmas-gift bull

( and a large photo of the Bull being removed )

Luckily in the story on page 3 their reporter had somehow identified the sculptor who had created the Bull, and gave his name as Arturo DiModica. I did the obvious and looked in the Manhattan phone book and happily found under someone with that name under the listing Studio DiModica at 212-966-6068 and decided to give it a try.

After a few rings an obviously troubled voice came on the line and in response to my question identified himself as Arturo DiModica and then told me he was sick because his Bull had been removed.

I immediately told Arturo I thought there might be even a better place to display his Bull in Lower Manhattan, at Bowling Green. If he could find it that is and get it back ! We agreed to meet late that Saturday afternoon at his Studio on Crosby Street to discuss the matter.

By the time I arrived at 54 Crosby Street, 4PM that afternoon, Arturo had learned what the NYSE had done with the Bull and how to get it back. It was in some 'holding pen' in Queens and if Arturo paid the $5000 or so NYSE had incurred in 'illegally' removing the Bull from a public street ( not their property ) he would get his Bull back.

So after some discussion Arturo, his girl friend at the time and myself got in his Jeep and drove down Broadway on a cold December day as darkness fell on the City. Once at Bowling Green it took Arturo only moments to look at the location I recommended, decide the Bull would fit nicely and agreed to bring him to Bowling Green.

Now there was only one Problem.

We needed permission from the City to place the Bull on NYC Parks property. Lucky again I had become friendly with then NYC Parks Commissioner Henry Stern, as a result of our own huge Christmas Tree at Bowling Green erected by the Association each year beginning in 1986.

In addition Commissioner Stern was very fond of animals and especially their representation in art and architecture. Reaching Henry over the weekend and explaining all this to him he readily agreed with the idea and said he would ask then Mayor Koch to approve. By Monday morning Henry called me and said it was OK with Mayor Koch.

I called Arturo who made arrangements to pay the $5000 to get his Bull returned and we all agreed that the Bull would arrive at Bowling Green on Wednesday morning, December 20, 1989. At about that time I said to Arturo the Bull needs an official name and he immediately decided to name him "Charging Bull."

Charging Bull arrived as planned early in the morning of December 20th and Arturo himself carefully guided CB into the exact location where he still stands today.

At noontime the street beside the park was closed and Commissioner Stern led a joyous ceremony welcoming Charging Bull to Bowling Green and thanking Arturo DiModica for allowing it.

I dubbed him the "Christmas Bull,"

Charging Bull arrived here only days before Christmas and exactly as at the NYSE there was a large brightly lit Christmas Tree exactly behind CB who appeared to be pulling the Tree up Broadway and conceptually reminiscent of Santa's reindeer leading his sled on its Christmas Eve journey.

Charging Bull was an instant hit way way beyond my expectations. Almost at once crowds began arriving to see CB and most of all take photos with him. And the crowds have never stopped coming 15 years later. Today they are larger than ever and Charging Bull is known throughout the world.

Rarely does any tourist come to New York City without visiting CB. Far more than visit such monuments as the Statue of Liberty and the Empire state Building.

Best of all is to watch young children of 3, 4, 5 and 6 and their disbelief and then look of joy in their faces in response to seeing Charging Bull and the quintessential image of their parents taking photos of them with CB.

Today after 15+ years Charging Bull has come to symbolize many things. To some New York City, to other the financial markets, to others the strength of the American economy, to others simply power and strength and friendliness at the same time. To children of all ages most of all Charging Bull is simply fun to see and touch and a joy to photograph. An image to be treasured forever.

Charging Bull is certainly a unique Phenomenon.

Without a comparison anywhere in the world.

There is one more kind of symbolism that Charging Bull represents specific to Italians and Italian Americans. That a wonderful Italian American artist born in Sicily, who came to America as a young man, has created a work of art as famous today as any on earth. That is why CB is also the "Italian Bull" and Arturo DiModica represents an unparalleled artistic tradition that extends back to Michelangelo and Beyond.

We should all be Proud of Charging Bull & Arturo DiModica.

Arturo has his wife Stefania and 4 year old daughter Marianna back in his home town of Vittoria, Sicily and he splits his time between Lower Manhattan and Vittoria. Arturo is a recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor for his creativity and spirit, and has also been honored by the National Italian American Foundation and the New York City Council as well.

And that is one of the most wonderful Stories you will ever read an Italian American classic best of all at Christmastime.