“Happiness, not in another place but this place…not for another hour, but this hour.” ― Walt Whitman
My town, New Rochelle, turned 325 years last year and this year as a final celebration 15 sculptures in the shape of a fleur-de-lis were installed around downtown.
The sculptures are all 5 feet tall and made of fiberglass. The artists chosen to decorate each sculpture are all locals. The fleur-de-lis shape was chosen to represent our French roots. New Rochelle was founded by the Huguenots in 1688. Our sister city is La Rochelle in the west of France.
I thought the sculptures were fun and wanted to post about them. Since I live right in the middle of downtown New Rochelle all I needed to do was walk around my neighborhood to get some pictures. I love walking around my neighborhood, it is so incredibly diverse.
The artists chose to celebrate different aspects of living and working in New Rochelle. They celebrated the diversity, the music, the welcoming feel, the artistic and cultural vibe, the indigenous roots, the Huguenots coming to America, and one even celebrated Walter Lantz. Walter Lantz was the creator of Woody Woodpecker and he was born in New Rochelle.
When I got home I realized I had good pictures of only 12 sculptures. You can see the other 3, and also get more details on each sculpture by clicking on each picture on this site: http://www.newrochelledowntown.com/events/?event=1224
I love the town I live in! Get out and find new reasons to love your town too!
Blessed with a Star on the Forehead 
A very good presentation! I enjoyed your tour!!
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Thank you! I am glad you enjoyed it! Blessings! 🙂
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What a great celebration of a beautiful town! My older sister went to college there and at age fourteen I remember how jealous I was!
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Really? which one? I went to Iona College, but there are 2 others, College of New Rochelle and Monroe College.
I hope she had a good experience here. Blessings! 🙂
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Such a wonderful way to celebrate and they are pretty too 🙂
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I agree! Every town should come up with something and get locals involved in celebrating the town! Blessings! 🙂
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Beautiful and colourful. Great to see more of your life.
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Thank you! I figure I need to share more than the heartaches lol
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Yeah, it’s good, but I always love your openness and honesty about relationships.
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Thank you! I figure that my readers/friends deserve nothing less than that. This blog is my therapist, so I have to be honest with it, otherwise it is pointless! Blessings! 🙂
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I love it and think you are great. Keep up the awesome blogging.
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🙂
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325 years? wow that is alot of history! how interesting! and what beautiful sculptures!
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yes 325! I feel so young when I think of that! lol
Blessings! 🙂
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Just love the pics..so much art and culture in those sculptures! Thanks for your ‘hospitality’ ≧◉◡◉≦
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Any time! thank you for stopping bye! Next time I will have some tea and biscuits! 🙂 Blessings!
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What a lovely idea! It looks great. I went to the link and your town does look nice to live in. Thanks for sharing this.
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while writing this post I thought of your beautiful Book Benches! Have a blessed weekend! 🙂
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You know me too, and I love it when towns have such lovely ideas! Makes living there much nicer!
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I have no idea where this business of painting pigs, cows, fleur-de-lys, etc. began, but I love the civic spirit and pride, not to mention fun, they bring out! Happy Birthday, New Rochelle! I first became aware of the town through “The Dick Van Dyke Show”, as that was where Rob and Laura lived:
7thhouseontheleft.com/2012/04/around-house-dick-van-dyke-show-2/
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thank you! I too have no idea who started the whole statues on the streets movement but I think it brings color and fun to the streets, not to mention the civic spirit and pride you mentioned.
oh yeah, the house on The Dick Van Dyke Show is another claim to fame.
Have a blessed weekend! 🙂
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Here in Las Vegas we are celebrating our 150 year anniversary with sculptures of barely clad showgirls! That’s actually a pretty poor joke but what is not a joke is that diversity in our neighborhood is poorly represented. When I first moved here I accidentally drove onto the wrong driveway and finally realized why my garage opener was not working. The Home Owner’s Association tells you what you can plant in your yard and what colors your house can be painted – which is beige with a brown wood trim as accent. I could go on but I really just stopped by to say I like and appreciate your post! 🙂
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Great advice
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whoops… my comment cut out early… great advice as I definitely will start to love my town! 😀
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Great! I think that is fun to sometimes step back and try to see something with fresher eyes. Perhaps you can discover a new park or take advantage of the library, etc 🙂
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thanx 4 delving into not only the longevity, but some ‘outside’ (inside, yeah) influences. i just got back from a “frenchie” place also — good to help open one’s eyes to influences which are not frequently encountered.
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Thank you for stopping by and enjoying my post! I enjoy your post and the insight in your life through the pictures! Blessings! 🙂
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I grew up in White Plains,and growing up you NEVER went to Nw Rochelle! NEVER! BUt since my wife, then girlfriend, convinced me to move here, I couln’t imagine living anywhere else! It’s got the best of everthing, and living across the street from Hudson Park and those glorious sunrises over The Sound as I head out to work are worth it!
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oh, a neighbor!!! New Rochelle is indeed an awesome place to live, I am glad that you enjoy here (smart to listen to the wife :-)!! Congratulations on everything, wedding and babies! Many blessings!
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Thank you for your post. My Huguenot ancestors (P. Deland, Massachusetts 1683) eventually made their way to Jamestown, NY and NW Pennsylvania. My fictional characters called New Paltz and Rondout Landing home and traveled through Huguenot, NY on the Old Mine Road. Great historical area and ripe for fiction writers.
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Thank you for reading it and commenting on it! How interesting!! I am going to look for your book! Many blessings! 🙂
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