Statue

Michael G. Rokos has traveled thousands of miles to pay homage to his American and Czech heritage and to the 28th U.S. president, who befriended his family nearly a century ago. The lifelong Baltimorean will reconnect with cousins in the Czech Republic and gather with them in Prague Wednesday for a ceremony that pays tribute to two cultures and one American leader. They will stand on Wilson Street, in front of Wilson Train Station, and rededicate a monument to Woodrow Wilson, who championed the Czech quest for independence early in the 20th Century.

Baltimore should take pride in the celebration of Penn Station's 100th anniversary. What a radical contrast one experiences approaching this architectural gem when confronted by the hideous man/woman statue. This eyesore is inappropriate and an embarrassment to our city which is desperately trying to improve its image. At a time when recycling unwanted metal is strongly encouraged, this statue is a prime candidate. Hobart V. Fowlkes

As artist Joseph Sheppard pondered creating a statue of one of baseball's icons, one image of Brooks Robinson kept flashing through his mind: having stabbed a scorching grounder, the Orioles' third baseman readies to throw out the runner at first. Eyes fixed on his target, ball firmly in grasp, Robinson appears predictable, orderly, calm. "Of the hundreds of photos of Brooks that I studied, that pose kept popping up, all through his [23-year] career," Sheppard said. "Whether he had a crew cut or long hair, wore loose pants or tight pants on the field, that pose never changed.

Baltimoreans can rejoice. Brooks is back. On Monday the Dorothy L. and Henry A. Rosenberg Jr. Foundation along with The Babe Ruth Birthplace Foundation announced that construction is underway for a statue honoring legendary Orioles third baseman Brooks Robinson. The statue, which will depict Robinson preparing to throw a runner out at first base, will be placed across from the northwest side of Camden Yards, on the plaza between Washington Boulevard and Russell St. Almost two years ago the Baltimore Public Art Commission unanimously approved plans for the 9-foot-high, 1,500 pound statue, and it will be unveiled at a ceremony on Oct. 22, 2011.

Part of a longtime bronze statue at Friends School has been stolen, Nothern District police said. The statue sits on the upper school plaza on the campus at 5114 N. Charles St. Made by the noted local sculptor Bart Walter, 53, a Friends graduate whose studio is located in Westminster, the statue is called "Friends. " It shows a boy reading to a girl - both sitting on stacks of books - and includes a lacrosse stick among other sports items. Someone stole the lacrosse stick between 10:30 p.m. July 14 and 6:30 a.m. July 15, police said.

A beloved mayor of Baltimore is gone, and the city, state and people he cared about are poised to honor him over a three-day period. With all that in the offing, the best The Sun can do is feature a photo of a Yankees fan in front of Mr. Schaefer's statue? I think the man would have hated it. Nancy Cantville, Eldersburg

On a soft spring evening at Harborplace and Camden Yards, William Donald Schaefer was remembered in a way that surely would have delighted him: as the man who made it all possible. "He had a lot of natural love for the city," Chad Elliott said as he strolled with his 2-year-old son past an illuminated statue of Schaefer near the Light Street pavilion at Harborplace. "You don't see that much anymore. " Elliott, 37, a chef from South Baltimore, remembered seeing Schaefer at the grand opening of the so-called festival marketplace that turned what had been a faded waterfront into a magnet for strollers, shoppers and sightseers.

John Hanson's spot in the U.S. Capitol is secure, but Harriet Tubman's chances of securing one are spotty. The General Assembly has been weighing whether to swap in Tubman, who helped slaves travel to freedom on the Underground Railroad, for Hanson, a Southern Maryland merchant and former president of the Continental Congress, in the National Statuary Hall Collection. Each state is allowed only two statues in the collection. Maryland has been represented since 1903 by Hanson and Charles Carroll of Carrollton, the only Roman Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence.

Vandals have toppled a 6-foot high concrete statue of the Virgin Mary that has overlooked Bosley Avenue in Towson for decades. The more than 200-pound statue, illuminated by a spotlight in the evening, sits in a grotto-like spot carved into the hillside that slopes from Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church near York Road. Donated years ago by a parishioner, the figure represents the mother of Jesus, the patroness of the congregation, whose church dominates the Towson skyline.