The cast of a mock-up of Daniel Chester French’s sculpture of Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial has been installed in the visitor’s reception area of One Grand Central Place (60 East 42nd Street), announced landlord Empire State Realty Trust, Inc.
Lawrence A. Wien, founder of ESRT’s predecessor company, purchased the statue in 1956 from French’s daughter, Margaret French Cresson, and placed it in the building’s lobby.
In 2009, when the name of the property was changed from The Lincoln Building to One Grand Central Place, the statue was loaned to Chesterwood, French’s summer home in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, and subsequently moved to the building’s law library.
Regarding its return, ESRT’s Chief Executive Officer Anthony Malkin said: “No one uses law libraries anymore. We wanted to allow people to see an important piece of American art. We will likely sell it in the future. Until then, we thought it would be nice to share it with visitors to One Grand Central Place.”
