Next Stop, Iceland

The statue of Leif Erikson (or Leifr Eiriksson in the modern, more "authentic" spelling) from the Iceland Exhibit at The Fair now stands at the entrance to the Mariners' Museum in Newport News, Virginia. Iceland was one of a number of smaller countries that did not have their own pavilions at The Fair; rather, these were allotted space in The Hall of Nations, which bordered The Court of Peace in front of the (U.S.) Federal Building.

The Fair statue is a larger copy of an original that stands in Reykjavik. Sculpted by Alexander Stirling Calder, the Reykjavik statue was a gift from the U.S. to the people of Iceland in 1930.

Leif Erikson in situ at The Fair

My view of approximately the same angle

We didn't see the inside the museum, because it is closed on Tuesdays. By the way, there's an excellent chronology of Erikson statues, including the Calders, here. (Who'd've thought there'd be so many?)

Signing off from Williamsburg, Virginia.

If It's Tuesday This Must Be Belgium

So right now we're packing up the car and getting ready to leave for a week's vacation: Colonial Williamsburg and Busch Gardens (we're history buffs, and coaster enthusiasts--it's perfect).

We're going to stop en route in Richmond to see the Belgian Pavilion from The Fair. The pavilion, as many of you probably already know, was dismantled after The Fair and re-assembled on the campus of Virginia Union University. The original plan was to send it all back to Belgium, but the War interfered with that!

Left: the current configuration of the Belgium Building; Right: the original layout (model photo from the New York Public Library

I can't tell you how excited I am to be finally able to see the pavilion! Some time ago I actually met the architect that was heading up a renovation of the building. He offered to give me a private hard-hat tour, but, alas, I was not able to take him up on that.

While we're down there, we're also planning to zip on over to Newport News to see the Alexander Stirling Calder statue of Leif Erikson that stood outside the Iceland exhibit at The Fair. It's a genuine Fair survivor, a larger copy of an original (1930) still standing in Reykjavik.

Of course, I'll be sure to post new photos as soon as I can!