Our Lady of the Rockies
Our Lady of the Rockies is a 27-meter-tall outdoor colossal statue of the Virgin Mary on a mountain summit in the Continental Divide of the Americas, overlooking Butte, Montana, in the United States. It stands on private land and has a lighting system so it can be seen at night. The base is 2,594 meters above sea level and 1,067 meters above the city. Conceived in 1979 by Butte resident Bob O'Bill as a tribute to the Virgin after his wife recovered from cancer, it was later dedicated also to all women, especially mothers.
May 2019 © Gillfoto · CC BY-SA 4.0
July 2013 © AllAroundTheWest · CC BY 2.5
July 2013 © AllAroundTheWest · CC BY-SA 2.0
© MPSharwood · CC BY-SA 4.0
© MPSharwood · CC BY-SA 4.0
Identification | |
| Type | Statue |
| Title | Our Lady of the Rockies |
Iconography and meaning | |
| Subject | The Virgin Mary, specifically Our Lady of Guadalupe |
Historical context | |
| Origin of idea | First conceived by Butte resident Bob O'Bill in 1979 after his wife survived cancer |
| Original intended purpose | A tribute to the Virgin Mary |
| Later dedication | Dedicated to all women, especially mothers |
| Original intended size | 1.5 meters |
| Original intended location | The courtyard of O'Bill's house |
| Community context | Built in a community economically affected by the closure of the copper mines |
Creator | |
| Designer role | Engineer at the Anaconda Copper Mining Company |
| Designer | Leroy Lee |
| Fabricator | Leroy Lee, with help from Ron Hughes |
| Designer | Laurien Eugene Riehl |
| Initiator | Bob O'Bill |
Discovery and provenance | |
| Land donor | Guy Ossello |
| Funding and labor | Constructed largely through donations of money, materials, and labor from the local community |
Physical characteristics | |
| Height | 90 feet (27 meters) |
| Base weight | 400 tons of concrete |
Materials | |
| Base material | Concrete |
Technique | |
| Transport method | A Sikorsky CH-54 Tarhe from the Army National Guard's 137th Aviation Company airlifted the statue in four sections |
| Head placement date | December 20, 1985 |
| Construction start date | December 29, 1979 |
| Transport date | December 17, 1985 |
| Base poured date | September 1985 |
Location and ownership | |
| Location | Saddle Rock on East Ridge, on the Continental Divide of the Americas overlooking Butte, Montana, United States |
| Site land status | Private land |
| Base elevation | 8,510 feet above sea level |
| Elevation above town | Approximately 3,000 feet above Butte |
| Visibility | Equipped with lighting so it is visible at night |
| Current access | Guided bus tours are offered in summer from the gift shop |
Significance | |
| Rank in the United States | Fifth-tallest statue in the United States |
| Larger statues named | Birth of the New World, the Statue of Liberty, the Pegasus and Dragon, and the Statue of Union |
History and restoration | |
| Religious controversy | Before erection, some residents opposed the project on religious grounds; Father Edward Hislop said it could offend people and raised separation of church and state concerns |
| Complaint in Ann Landers | In March 1985, a reader complained in Ann Landers' advice column that a religious group in Butte was imposing its beliefs on the city |
| Freedom From Religion Foundation complaint | In August 1994, the Freedom From Religion Foundation objected to the nearby Anaconda Job Corps' involvement in building a chapel at the statue site and to the use of federal resources |
| Job Corps involvement ended | The U.S. Department of Labor ended the Job Corps' involvement on September 11, 1994 |
| Tram dispute | In July 2005, landowners sued over plans to use a nearby private road for a tram to the statue; the Butte district court approved the plan, but the Montana Supreme Court ruled the road could not be used, ending the tram plan |
Other | |
| Tram status | Unrealized |