Hoboken Mayor Ravi S. Bhalla and the City of Hoboken Unveil a life-sized Bronze Statue of Frank Sinatra

photos courtesy of Hoboken Mayor Ravi S. Bhalla

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Hoboken NJ, Hoboken Mayor Ravi S. Bhalla and the City of Hoboken unveiled a life-sized bronze statue of Frank Sinatra on Sunday December 12th . The Mayor was joined by Tina Sinatra , Joe Piscopo  and the sculptor Carolyn Palmer . The statue was paid for through private donations from people like  Joe Piscopo and blog readers  from Upper Saddle River Derek Michalski and his wife Margaret .

Over  200 people turned out to celebrate the sculpture’s unveiling at Sinatra Park on Sinatra Drive in the city on a bright, cold afternoon, marking another homecoming for the beloved artist, known as ‘Ol Blue Eyes. The sculpture depicts a life-sized, 6-foot tall Sinatra leaning against a lamppost on a pedestal, his left hand on his hat.

Sculptor Carolyn Palmer, has a studio in Saddle River, and has been sculpting since 2000. She said her personal inspiration for doing the statue came from her love of Sinatra’s music, movies, videos, and photographs. Palmer said Hoboken officials approached her about doing a sculpture of Sinatra after seeing a picture of the statues of the four popes she sculpted on the cover of Catholic Magazine.

Frank Sinatra was born December 12, 1915 in Hoboken and lived at 415 Monroe St. until he was 12 years old. Outside of the home sits a bronze plaque, which was placed in 1996 by the Hoboken Historical Museum, two years before his death.