There’s a tiny park in Baltimore’s Guilford neighborhood that’s home to an improbable monument. It’s a bronze bust of Simon Bolivar, who liberated Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia from Spanish colonial rule. Questions abound: Who made this thing? Was it a gift? Who was it from? How and why is it here? And what message should we take from it? Get ready for a trip down a historical rabbit hole that spans centuries, from the Colonial Era to the Cold War.
![The front and back of the pedestal offer few clues. (Photo credit Aaron Henkin / WYPR)](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/0606c40/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2000x2000+0+0/resize/880x880!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F07%2F88%2F06ce1abf4d23b3fcd1e8c8f1e4f7%2Fbolivar-pedestal-front-and-back.jpg)
In this episode, we hear from:
Public historian Aimee Pohl, who's written an article about the statue and produced a video feature on the subject for Baltimore Heritage.
Christy Thornton, Assistant Professor of Sociology and Latin American Studies at Johns Hopkins University
![Aimee Pohl has diligently plumbed the mystery of the statue. She's become fond of Bolivar's visage. (photo credit: Aaron Henkin / WYPR)](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/da53352/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2310x2310+0+0/resize/880x880!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ffc%2Fad%2F961369414f70830ab3ad0d754c53%2Faimee-and-simon.jpg)