The sculpture of a phoenix that had adorned Mount Saint Mary College’s former Curtin Memorial Library was reborn on Thursday, November 5, taking its place at the Kaplan Family Library and Learning Center.
In Greek mythology, the phoenix is said to have regenerative powers and is associated with the sun.
It was during a stretch of unusually warm weather that the sculpture was moved to the Kaplan Family Library, which is located in the Mount’s Dominican Center. The phoenix now watches over the back entrance of the building, the Kaplan Family Library parking lot, and Powell Avenue.
In 1961, the Dominican Sisters and students of the Mount formed a procession to pass books from the Villa Library to the new library located in Aquinas Hall. Decades later, it was decided that the library would be relocated again, this time to the recently-purchased Dominican Center. Members of the college community gathered on a chilly day in January 2014 to recreate the original book procession, lining the sidewalk and stairs from the Curtin Memorial to the new Kaplan Family Library and Learning Center.
Now, six years later, the phoenix sculpture has returned to its well-read roots.