Doughboy statue commemorated on 100th anniversary

PITTSBURGH — Mayor Bill Peduto joined the Lawrenceville community to commemorate the centennial of its iconic “Doughboy Statue” on Sunday.

The statue, at the intersection of Penn Avenue and Butler Street, serves as the entryway into Lawrenceville. Containing the names of more than 2,700 veterans from the surrounding area, the statues is an iconic symbol for the Pittsburgh neighborhood.

The community organization at the time, the Lawrenceville Board of Trade, led fundraising efforts throughout 1918-1919 to commission the statue. It was designed by Allen Newman and approved by the City of Pittsburgh Art Commission in 1920. It was dedicated on May 30, 1921.

Throughout its one hundred years as serving as a symbol of the Lawrenceville neighborhood, the community has worked to preserve the statue. In 1947, it was redesigned to include the names of 2,729 service men and women around the circular plinth that the Doughboy stands atop. There was also a large community effort in the 1980s led by the then-Lawrenceville Citizens Council to refurbish the Doughboy and the surrounding area they called “Doughboy Square”.

Members of the Lawrenceville community continue to promote the preservation and fundraising efforts for the Doughboy statue and work with the City on its maintenance.

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