Rosa Parks metal sculpture.

Rosa Parks: Metal Surprise

Montgomery, Alabama

Sculpted by Ian Mangum at Maxwell Air Force Base (Rosa Parks worked there), this "perspective sculpture" is made of more than 300 pieces of black steel welded onto 17 upright poles. Only when you stand directly in front of it -- supposedly on the spot where Rosa was arrested for not giving up her seat to a white man on a bus -- does the abstract pattern resolve itself into an image of Rosa's smiling face. It was unveiled on December 1, 2021, the 66th anniversary her arrest.

At the time, Rosa was wearing rimless glasses, which always presents a problem for sculptors trying to recreate her fateful moment. Ian Mangum simply ignored the problem by giving her glasses with rims.

Rosa Parks: Metal Surprise

Address:: 252 Montgomery St., Montgomery, AL
Directions:: West side of downtown, on the northwest corner of Montgomery and Molton Sts.

Nearby Offbeat Places

Rosa Parks Museum, Montgomery, AL - < 1 mi.

Hank Williams Death Car, Montgomery, AL - < 1 mi.

Rosa Parks Waits For Bus, Montgomery, AL - < 1 mi.

In the region:

Mothers of Gynecology, Montgomery, AL - < 1 mi.

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