History May Lie Under Columbus Pedestal

Time capsule reportedly buried at time of 1892 erection.

Those items are contained in a time capsule inserted within the concrete of one of the cornerstones of the statue.

So reported Jason Bischoff-Wurstle, the photo-archivist at the New Haven Museum.

Alerted by the Independent about the possibility of such a capsule existing, Bischoff-Wurstle went on a search. (He had provided similar information back in 2012 about the time capsule of the Lincoln Oak on the New Haven Green)

The Independent suspected there might be a capsule there because we received a tip to that effect from New Haven activist Paula Panzarella. Panzarella said she remembered, as the removal of the statue in recent days jogged her memory, that she had had a conversation back in 1992 with an older Italian-American man. He had mentioned the time capsule to her. Panzarella’s conversation was likely occasioned because of the 500th anniversary of Columbus’s discovery of America.

We told Bischoff-Wurstle about that. Normally he would have turned to digitized newspaper archives. But thanks to Covid-19 closings, he had no access. So he contacted Laura Macaluso. She’s the author of The Public Artscape of New Haven. He asked her if she knew of a time capsule in the monument.

Macaluso checked her text and indeed found that she had, in describing the events around the dedication of the statue, that a time capsule was inserted with Italian and Spanish coins, and newspapers

Her source?

An article published in the Oct. 12, 1892 New Haven Register.

“The corner stone will hold a metallic box containing a number of coins and papers enclosed in a leathery case. There will be a written account of the proceedings of the day, together with a number of American, Italian, and Spanish coins,” the Register article stated.

The cornerstone was placed on the base that day. The statue itself was not erected until nine days later, Bischoff-Wurstle said, according to Macaluso’s research.

“My read is that the coins would have had Columbus’s image on them,” Bischoff-Wurstle said.

Unearthing Context & Maybe Intent

Margaret Anne Tockarshewsky said, ​“It would be exciting if someone did find a time capsule because it would show contributions from those in the neighborhood and probably be a good snapshot of the Italian-American community living in Wooster Square at that time,” she said. ​“If one is found, we believe it should be preserved so that it can be recorded, studied, and interpreted for future generations.”

“It is exciting. Now we’ve got the potential to see their intent,” Bischoff-Wurstle agreed. That context may be one aspect of the story being lost in the debate on how societies deploy cultural heritage for a range of uses. ​“To pinpoint the intent of the monument and its latter day history is difficult, because there have not been a lot of records that have come to the surface. When you find primary sources like this, it’s a quick window into that day in October 1892.

“The monument was erected not only by a group of Italian associations, but everyday workers. If you had an extra penny — and that was significant money then and people were contributing — the monument was really to give significance to this growing population, the newest immigrant group in the country.”

Bischoff-Wurstle said that his intuition is that the Catholic Church and maybe even the consulate were involved as well.

How should the time capsule be extracted and to whom does it belong?

Italian-American groups that have formed both to approve the removal and to protest in outrage should have a say in the disposition of the artifacts, he argued. ​“The mayor, parks department, and state archeologist should lead.”

The extraction of the time capsule should be conducted, he added, according to archeological standards.

While the monument itself came down for repairs in 1992, around the time of the 500th anniversary, and perhaps also for a spate of repairs in the 1960s, he conjectures that the pedestal has not been disturbed. Maybe it was power-washed and grouted, but the time capsule, if it were there, is likely intact.

There’s a good chance the items might also be in a metallic container of some kind, as was the Lincoln Oak artifacts.

“If it had been altered or removed, people would have known about it.”

The newspaper article itself — as opposed to relying on Macaluso’s quotation from the article — would be nice to have in hand, and that may become a reality when the library reopens.

“She’s an authority on it, and a direct quote from a newspaper at the time [albeit contained in her book and research] is a good reason to investigate. It’s probably there.”

“There’s a 90 percent chance. I hope this moves forward in a cool way.”