San Antonio – The San Antonio City Council gave the official approval to permanently remove a statue of Christopher Columbus from a downtown city park and return it to the Christopher Columbus Italian Society.
It also agreed to rename the park at 500 Columbus Street from Columbus Park to Piazza Italia Park.
The council unanimously approved both changes as part of its consent agenda.
The statue has remained a topic of controversy for years, and discussion over its removal has been fueled by recent protests over racial injustice and historical figures tied to colonialism, slavery and the Confederacy.
Crews remove Christopher Columbus statue at downtown San Antonio park
District 1 Councilman Roberto Trevino had pushed for the statue’s removal and thanked both indigenous people who kept the issue in the public eye and the Italian Society for its “understanding and support.”
“This is about understanding that for one group, the monument was a symbol of pain, and for the other a symbol of heritage and place in their community,” Trevino said.
The statue was previously removed for cleaning and restoration on July 1 after it was vandalized.
Trevino indicated that another effort to consider renaming Columbus Street is also underway.