Christopher Columbus statue removed from outside Columbus City Hall

Workers remove the Christhopher Columbus statue on the Broad Street side of Columbus City Hall Wednesday, July 1, 2020.  The city says it will be replaced with a different statue or artwork that reflects diversity. A city news releaase said it will be placed in safekeeping at a secure city facility. The Christopher Columbus statue was a gift from the people of Genoa, Italy, in 1955.  (Doral Chenoweth/Columbus Dispatch)

Credit: Doral Chenoweth

Credit: Doral Chenoweth

Workers remove the Christhopher Columbus statue on the Broad Street side of Columbus City Hall Wednesday, July 1, 2020. The city says it will be replaced with a different statue or artwork that reflects diversity. A city news releaase said it will be placed in safekeeping at a secure city facility. The Christopher Columbus statue was a gift from the people of Genoa, Italy, in 1955. (Doral Chenoweth/Columbus Dispatch)

A statue of Christopher Columbus was removed from the outside of Columbus City Hall Wednesday morning, weeks after the city's mayor said the statue would be taken down due to it not representing the values of the city, according to WBNS.

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The statue was removed in the early hours of the morning, around 3 a.m., and required a crane.

The Columbus statue has been in front of city hall for 65 years and was donated by Columbus' sister city, Genoa, Italy, reported the Columbus Dispatch.

Workers remove the Christhopher Columbus statue on the Broad Street side of Columbus City Hall Wednesday, July 1, 2020.  The city says it will be replaced with a different statue or artwork that reflects diversity. A city news releaase said it will be placed in safekeeping at a secure city facility. The Christopher Columbus statue was a gift from the people of Genoa, Italy, in 1955.  (Doral Chenoweth/Columbus Dispatch)

Credit: Doral Chenoweth

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Credit: Doral Chenoweth

The Columbus Art Commission, which has authority over all art owned by the city, is in the process of finding something to replace the statue, the dispatch reported.

Following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, as well as other Black Americans, people across the country have been calling for the removal of statues or memorials with a racist history.

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A Robert E. Lee marker in Franklin was spray-painted and egged and the parking lot was also spray-painted with “No Racist Monuments” recently, according to police.

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