PhilaPlace

Don Quixote Statute

Don Quixote statue. Image provided by Historical Society of Pennsylvania

north side of 2nd and Girard

The Spanish city of Ciudad Real in the region of La Mancha gifted this 14-foot bronze sculpture to the Spanish-speaking people of South Kensington in 1997 as a token of friendship and cooperation between the two communities. The idea of the sculpture was conceived in 1994 when a visiting delegation of Spanish businessmen met with local representatives of the American Street Empowerment Zone; both groups saw an opportunity to increase economic exchange between pan-Latino South Kensington and Spain. Placed at the gateway to the American Street Empowerment Zone, Quixote overlooks the razed site of Schmidt's Brewery — the quintessential reminder of Kensington's former industrial might — and embodies the hopes and aspirations of a neighborhood on the rise.