Descent of Civilization

LOCATION
Broadway Boulevard and W 9th Street, Kansas City, MO
OWNER
DST Systems
ARTIST
Marc Swanson
DATES
Installed October 11, 2010; Dedicated October 13, 2010
MEDIUM
Bronze (sculpture), limestone (base)
AKA Bison Memorial, American Buffalo Statue
A memorial to the great herds of bison that roamed the Great Plains that were hunted almost to extinction due to the expansion and development of the United States and is now lost forever. On the north face of the base, a quote by zoologist William T. Hornaday refers to this as the “descent of civilization,” which gives the sculpture its name.