Statue of Bill Russell, Bronze statue at City Hall Plaza, Boston, United States.
The Statue of Bill Russell is a bronze sculpture at City Hall Plaza in Boston, showing the basketball player in his Celtics jersey number 6 making a chest pass. Eleven granite pillars surround the figure, forming a defined open space around the memorial.
The bronze sculpture was unveiled in 2013 to honor Russell's legacy with the Boston Celtics. The eleven granite pillars refer to his eleven NBA championships won as both a player and a coach.
Children figures climbing the granite pillars around the statue represent Russell's connection to young people and his long stand against racial discrimination. The pillars carry no inscriptions, so many visitors discover their meaning only after looking more closely.
The memorial stands just outside Boston City Hall in the downtown area and is freely accessible at any time. It helps to walk around the full perimeter to take in all the details of the pillars and the sculpture.
The sculpture was created by artist Ann Hirsch, who worked closely with Russell himself so that he could shape how he would be portrayed. This kind of direct involvement from the subject in designing their own public memorial is rare.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
