Independent Man to have a return engagement in Rhode Island State House foyer Saturday

Workers set the Independent Man statue down onto the Rhode Island State House plaza on Dec. 5, 2023, after a crane removed it from its perch. The statue was displayed for a few weeks in the foyer on a specially-crafted base before being restored. (Rhode Island Office of the Governor)

The Independent Man is having a housewarming party this Saturday, and the public is invited.

The Rhode Island State House is not usually open on Saturdays, but it will be Saturday, May 4, from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., in observance of Rhode Island Independence Day. The open house is organized by Secretary of State Gregg Amore and the State House Restoration Committee. The Independent Man will be on display for the first time since January when the statue was removed for restoration work.

“He has his shine back, and I have to say, he is looking sharp,” said Gov. Dan McKee in a statement released Monday.

Guided tours of the State House will start in the lobby at 10, 10:30, 11 and 11:30 a.m. After that, self- guided tours will be available from noon to 2 p.m.

Mark Rabinowitz, a conservationist and the man behind the Independent Man’s glow up, will be available at 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. for brief presentations about the restoration process.

In December, the Rhode Island State House’s iconic ornament was removed from his usual hangout atop the dome that sits at the literal apex of Rhode Island’s state government. While the gold-plated statue was structurally sound, the marble base on which it stands was not. (The base is still being repaired, with Georgian marble from the original quarry.)

Independent Man will get privacy during restoration at R.I. National Guard Armory

So the Independent Man took a sabbatical and enjoyed the company of appreciative crowds who came to visit the statue during its temporary stay on the ground floor of the State House. Then, in the first week of January, the chiseled icon went to hang out with conservator Rabinowitz, who was contracted by the state to restore the statue’s then-lackluster surface back to its earlier opulence.

“As promised, I want to make sure that Rhode Islanders have another chance to see the Independent Man up close and experience an exciting part of Rhode Island history before the statue returns to its perch later this year,” McKee said.

The Independent Man apparently got quite a fierce tan since the last time it was seen in public. Rabinowitz made small repairs to the statue’s gold electroplated surface — an exterior layer of metal that was first applied in 1975, during the first and only other instance of the statue’s removal from his usual perch. This time around, Rabinowitz added another layer of gold leaf as well.

The Independent Man’s homecoming coincides with a particularly liberatory holiday: Rhode Island Independence Day honors the smallest state’s trendsetting move in revolutionary American history. Rhode Island was the first state to reject British rule with the Act of Renunciation , passed on May 4, 1776, exactly two months before the Declaration of Independence maneuvered to cut national ties with Britain. The Act saw the colony’s General Assembly agree to repeal the royal charter and vacate the crown’s authority from the local courts and laws.

“Rhode Island played a critical role in the American Revolution, leading the way as the first colony to renounce its allegiance to England,” Amore, a former history and civics teacher, said in a press release. “Visiting the State House to enjoy a tour of this incredible building and learn about the Act of Renunciation is the perfect way to recognize Rhode Island Independence Day.”

A pop-up exhibit on the second floor of the State House will inform visitors about Rhode Island’s revolutionary history.

The Independent Man will be transported to the State House on Thursday, but needs some time to get ready for guests. A press release noted the statue would be installed in the State House foyer by the end of day on Friday, May 3. He’ll remain there through the summer, and is expected to return to the State House dome sometime in the fall.

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