Roadside Attraction: Balto and the Team of Sled Dogs - Central Park, NY, NY

Balto and 

The Team of Sled Dogs

Central Park

NY, NY

N 40° 46.199 W 073° 58.260

Short Description: 

A monument featuring a bronze statue of lead dog Balto and a plaque honoring the sled dog team that brought life saving medication to Nome, Alaska is located in Central Park, NY.

Long Description:

In the winter of 1925, Nome, Alaska was stricken by a diphtheria epidemic. To rescue the residents of Nome, Gunnar Kaasen's sled dog team with lead dog Balto was sent from Nenana to Nome, Alaska with life saving diphtheria antitoxin. To honor the heroic effort of the sled dogs a statue of Balto and an accompanying plaque was erected in Central Park.

A 4' by 2' by 1.5' bronze statue of Balto stand on a 1.5' high bronze plinth that matches the rock outcrop on which the statue is set. Balto's stands on spread apart legs. A sled rope is hanging from his back and his tongue is sticking out of his mouth as if he is panting. The front of the plinth is inscribed BALTO.

The bronze plaque on the face of the rock outcrop has the image of the sled team and is inscribed:

DEDICATED TO THE INDOMITABLE SPIRIT OF

THE SLED DOGS

THAT RELAYED ANTITOXIN SIX HUNDRED MILES OVER ROUGH ICE

ACROSS THE TREACHEROUS WATERS THROUGH ARCTIC BLIZZARDS FROM

NENANA TO THE RELIEF OF STRICKEN NOME IN THE

WINTER OF 1925

ENDURANCE FIDELITY INTELLIGENCE