Charging Bull, Bronze sculpture in Bowling Green, United States
Charging Bull is a bronze figure in Manhattan showing a bull in full motion, with muscles tense and hooves set in an attacking stance. The sculpture weighs around 3 tons, stands over 3 meters tall, and extends nearly 5 meters in length.
Sculptor Arturo Di Modica placed the work without permission in front of the New York Stock Exchange in December 1989, following the stock market crash of 1987. The city later moved the figure to Bowling Green Park, where it has remained since.
Visitors rub the horns and back of the figure, hoping this gesture will bring them fortune and prosperity. This tradition has caused some parts of the bronze to become polished smooth, while others retain their original patina.
The sculpture stands in the small Bowling Green Park near Wall Street and is accessible around the clock. Those wanting to avoid crowds should come early in the morning or late evening, when tourist numbers drop off.
Di Modica created the figure in his SoHo studio and secretly transported it by truck to the stock exchange. The city initially wanted to remove it, but public reaction was so positive that officials relocated it to an official site instead.
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