The Balbo Monument: Chicago's Dirty Lil' Secret

One of the most unvisited pieces of public art in Chicago is the Balbo Monument located in Burnham Park, a stone's throw from Soldier Field where the Chicago Bears play football, when they're at home any way...for now any way because they're moving to Arlington Heights in the near future.
Any way, the reason why it's unvisited is because it's controversial; it was named after a fascist Italian politician named Italo Balbo. Not only that, the fascist dictator Benito Mussolini donated it to Chicago for the Italian Pavilion used during the 1933 Century of Progress World's Fair. Not only that, Mussolini was an ally of the notorious Adolph Hitler, and I don't need to tell you what that b*stard did.

[@danrhinehart1134]

The reason that nobody messes with the Balbo monument is that nobody wants to mess with the local Italian community.

[@chicago-bob]

Perhaps, but they took down a couple of Columbus statues which pissed them off.

[@daniel.creative]

I just found this monument in real life. I wonder if it's the oldest monument in chicago

[@chicago-bob]

It might be the oldest outdoor monument. There’s probably some stuff in the Field Museum and the Art Institute that’s older. 🤷