Washington, Italy
The Noyes Armillary Sphere is a bronze armillary sphere located in Meridian Hill Park, a 12-acre (4.9 ha) urban park in Washington, D.C. It was the fifth artwork installed in the park and was designed by sculptor C. Paul Jennewein, whose other works in the city include the Darlington Memorial Founta
in and 57 sculptural elements at the Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building. Artist Bertha Noyes donated $15,000 toward the project's cost in honor of her deceased sister, Edith. The sphere is sited in the park's exedra, south of the Cascading Waterfall and reflecting pool. It rests on a granite pedestal designed by Horace Peaslee, an architect who oversaw construction of Meridian Hill Park. Jennewein completed his design of the sculpture in 1931 and a bill accepting it on behalf of the United States was signed into law by President Herbert Hoover the following year. After the sphere was founded by the Roman Bronze Works company, it remained in New York because of delays in installing the foundation. The sphere was finally dedicated in 1936. During the next few decades, the sphere and some of the park's other sculptures were damaged. In 1973, the sphere was removed by the National...
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