Suozzi Unveils Theodore Roosevelt Sculpture at Newly Renovated Executive and Legislative Building

Designed by Famed Artist Paul Manship; Commemorates 108th Anniversary of the Laying of the Cornerstone by President Roosevelt

Mineola, N.Y. – Nassau County Thomas R. Suozzi today unveiled the Paul Manship Theodore Roosevelt sculpture at front the Theodore Roosevelt Executive and Legislative Building in Mineola. The sculpture was unveiled as part of a celebratory “Bully Picnic” commemorating the 109th anniversary of the laying of the building’s cornerstone by Theodore Roosevelt, as well as the rededication of the building as the centerpiece of the county seat.

“This beautiful sculpture is a fitting tribute to Nassau County’s own, Teddy Roosevelt, an independent-minded Republican, great conservationist, fearless police commissioner and battler for democracy,” said County Executive Suozzi. “I am pleased that many years from now this sculpture, will symbolize the great promises of our County, its peopleand its future, just as this building did exactly 109 years ago.”

On July 13, 1900, the then-Governor of New York, Theodore Roosevelt, laid a three-foot-long granite cornerstone at the northeast corner of the building, once considered to be one of the finest buildings in the state. It remained the center of Nassau County government until the beginning of World War II.

The renovation, which began in 2002, improved the building’s infrastructure, abated hazardous materials, and preserved and restored the building’s historic architecture, which includes a gilded rotunda and murals depicting historic local events. The murals were designed by Robert Gaston Herbert of Sea Cliff and commissioned by the Works Progress Administration during the Great Depression. In addition, the building also now includes a new legislative and administrative wing that will provide ready access for the County’s constituents and provide efficient working areas for the Legislative and Executive Branches of County government.

The newly dedicated 13-foot tall statue was made in the 1960’s by sculptor Paul Manship, who also designed the famous statue of Prometheus in Rockefeller Center, as a smaller “study” piece as a practice piece for a permanent Theodore Roosevelt statue overlooking Potomac River in Washington, D.C. That seventeen-foot bronze sculpture was dedicated in 1967, the year after Manship’s death. The new Nassau County statue was cast at Paul King Foundry in Johnston, Rhode Island, in 2002 and is the only copy available from the Manship estate.