Maureen MackeyJanuary 20, 2022, 6:25 AM·3 min readIn this article:

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• Theodore Roosevelt26th president of the United States (1858–1919)

An iconic 1939 bronze statue of Theodore Roosevelt has stood prominently, boldly, in front of the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan for over 80 years, greeting schoolchildren, families, history buffs and museumgoers of all ages and backgrounds, as well as all who passed by it — but now that monument is gone.

The main piece of the Teddy Roosevelt monument was taken away by crane in the wee hours of early Thursday morning, just after midnight on Wednesday.

The statue is taking a hike out of New York City — and is now headed for North Dakota.

The bold equestrian monument to the nation's 26th president depicted him flanked by two figures walking beside him, a Native American man and an African man — but it sparked major controversy and protests from some corners, with certain groups and individuals claiming it glorified colonialism and racism.

Others, however, defended the tribute and rallied to keep the monument in place, with some wanting deeper context and understanding around it.

The New York Young Republican Club, among others, defended the monument and spoke to "Fox and Friends" about the issue nearly two years ago. This was "about a cultural revolution … engulfing our nation," the group's leader, Gavin Wax, said at the time. "We need to stand up … We have history on our side."

The controversy was part of a larger push to remove statues, monuments and other images across America honoring certain historical figures, Confederate soldiers, slave owners and others.

After a crane took the statue away early on Thursday morning, just the concrete pedestal remained, as The New York Post reported.

Scaffolding now surrounds what had been the tribute to Theodore Roosevelt.

Evangelist Alveda King, speaking to Fox News' Neil Cavuto a few years ago about this issue, said, "We're fighting over statues now … If you're going to take one statue down, you're going to have to take all statues down. And that doesn't work. Why don't we leave them up, and find out why they were there?"

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