The Shandaken Eagle

eagle statueLocated in the hamlet of Phoenicia, the Shandaken Eagle stands proudly at the intersection of State routes 28 & 214.  Dating back to the 1870s, the two ton bird with a wingspan of 13 feet, and several others like it,  were once located in NYC at the Grand Central Depot at the intersection of Park Avenue and 42nd Street.  When the building was remodeled in 1898, the Eagle was taken down and stored away. When the present-day Grand Central Terminal opened in 1913, there was still no place for the eagles.. so they stayed in storage and were ultimately sold off individually.

This Eagle was purchased by David McLane in 1966 and again stored away until a home could be found for it.  In 1980 Mr. McLane moved to Shandaken and left his eagle behind in Brewster NY.  He soon found out that Shandaken (in 1976), had adopted the eagle as its official town symbol. He offered his eagle to the town.  A committee was organized to bring the eagle to shandaken.

eagle plaqueGene Gormley of Phoenicia was chairman of the committee that raised the $10,000 to pay for moving, repairing and erecting the bird.  Most of the money was raised by contributions of $35 each by people who put an object of their choosing into a time capsule that was buried by the eagle and will be opened in 2076 during the nation’s Tricentennial.

Metal sculptor, Dakin Morehouse of Woodland Valley, restored the deteriorating sculpture in his Phoenicia Forge, and it was installed on August 23, 1986 amid much ceremony.