Prodigy Real Estate - SI NY Real Estate Blog

After the First World War, many World War One memorials began to be placed all over New York City to commemorate those who fought in the war.  In the early 1920s, residents of the southern portion of Staten Island-then known as the Fifth Ward-raised money to have a sculpture built for their community.  George Thomas Brewster, a resident of Tottenville, sculpted an $8,500 statue based on the Louvre's Winged Victory of Samothrace.

The monument Brewster created showed a woman standing atop a globe, holding above her head a sword and the branch of a palm tree, which was considered a symbol of victory before the Common Era.  Sitting in front of the woman was an eagle with its wings spread.  On each side of the quadrilateral pedestal were four plaques.  The plaques honored the 493 soldiers and sailors from Staten Island's Fifth Ward who served during the First World War.  The monument was placed on a traffic island in the neighborhood of Pleasant Plains,known as Pleasant Plains Plaza.  It was dedicated on June 9, 1923.

For years, residents of the community would visit the statue every Memorial Day.  During the ceremony, flower girls would place a poppy in front of the statue after each name was read off the plaque.  After the ceremony, a parade would begin from the statue.

In 1970, a motorist drove into the statue, damaging it from the waist down.  The statue was soon removed to Randall's Island, where it was to be repaired.  In 1974, Joseph Bresnan, the director of monuments for the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, announced that the statue was missing from storage.  The following year, due to the extensive cost of the statue's reproduction, he announced that the statue would be replaced by a granite obelisk.

While residents accepted the replacement obelisk, they were still saddened that the Winged Victory statue was gone.  By 1991, funds were raised for renovation of the traffic island, which would extend the site to make it more of a traffic median.  Pleasant Plains Plaza was transferred over from the New York City Department of Transportation to the New York City Department of Parks and Transportation.

During the renovation of the site, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation added a flagpole and a variety of flora.  A replica of the Winged Victory statue was also added to the newly-constructed Pleasant Plains Plaza.  The replacement statue was sculpted by Diane and Glenn Hines in 1996 by using pictures of the original statue to make it an exact replica.  The original 1923 plaques were posted on the pedestal which sits below the current statue.

Pleasant Plains Plaza is located on Pleasant Plains Ave., near the intersection of Pleasant Plains Avenue, Amboy Road, and Bloomingdale Road.  Just as they did decades ago, residents of the community gather at the site during the holidays.  Many come to decorate a large evergreen tree that was planted during the renovation of the site.

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