{"nrhp_refnum":"06000758","name":"Aviator, The","other_names":["Vdhr 002-5073"],"category":"object","location":{"address":"575 Alderman Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Charlotteville","county":"Albemarle County","state":"VA","lat":38.03840529800004,"lon":-78.50546092499997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2006-11-09","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Art"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A twelve-foot bronze memorial statue on a marble pedestal, located on the Central Grounds of the University of Virginia near Charlottesville in Albemarle County, Virginia. Sculptor Gutzon Borglum designed it and it was unveiled in 1919.","why_significant":"The statue is significant in the area of art as a work of the American Renaissance era by a master sculptor, Gutzon Borglum. It combines European artistic tradition, Classical motifs and an American theme, and it possesses high artistic values. It also memorializes James Rogers McConnell, a university alumnus killed in air combat in France in 1917.","narrative":"Rising twelve feet on the Central Grounds of the University of Virginia, this bronze statue depicts an athletic nude figure in an aviator's helmet, with outstretched arms supporting a pair of wings and a belt holding a knife. Sculptor Gutzon Borglum designed it as a memorial to James Rogers McConnell, a former student who volunteered for France and died in aerial combat in March 1917 as a member of the Lafayette Escadrille. University president Edwin A. Alderman commissioned the work in 1917, alumni, friends and students contributed funds, and it was unveiled in June 1919. An octagonal Tennessee marble pedestal carries relief carvings of World War I airplanes and inscriptions honoring McConnell. The statue is valued as an example of American Renaissance sculpture, blending Classical references, including the myth of Icarus, with an American theme, and as the work of a sculptor later known for Mount Rushmore. It was moved slightly as the campus grew but remains a focal point near the libraries.","period_of_significance":"1919","architect_builder":"Borglum, Gutzon, Sculptor","architectural_style":"Late 19th and Early 20th Century Revivals (American Renaissance)","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Still serves as a memorial statue on the University of Virginia grounds; it has been repositioned near its original location as walkways and buildings were added.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:02.605145-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/97/6793/41679397/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/06000758.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/06000758/d1e0018afc-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/06000758/d1e0018afc-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Semclaughlin","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Aviator_statue_outside_Clemons_Library.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Semclaughlin</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Aviator_statue_outside_Clemons_Library.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"84003523","name":"Rugby Road-University Corner Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/virginia/rugby-road-university-corner-historic-district-84003523/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41679397","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Aviator_(Charlottesville,_Virginia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14713293"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/albemarle-county/aviator-the-06000758/"}