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Gone, perhaps, but not forgotten. A few weeks ago, New York's Mayor John V. Lindsay wrote to Philadelphia's Mayor James Tate asking for Diana's return to grace the new $38 million Madison Square Garden now abuilding on the site of the old Pennsylvania Station. Last week Tate replied: Never. "When no one wanted this poor little orphan girl, Philadelphia took her in, gave her a palatial home, and created a beautiful image for her." Added Tate: "Would you really have me believe that you would give Manhattan back to the Indians if they returned the $24 you paid for it?"
Study & Copy. To be sure, New York still has Saint-Gaudens' original concrete study in the Museum of the City of New York. Another Diana, a 9-foot bronze copy made in 1928, is owned by the Metropolitan Museum; its twin graces the Long Island garden, now public, of the late Financier John S. Phipps. But the real Diana is New York's no more.
O. Henry had foreseen it all. "Ye must know, Miss Diana," admonished Miss Liberty, "that 'tis with statues the same as with people—'tis not their makers nor the purpose for which they were created that influences their operations. It's the associations with which they became associated."