[1] The statue rested on and was the central feature of the Portman Plaza on the south side of City Hall adjoining West Broad Street.

The bronze alloy sculpture depicts Christopher Columbus wearing a cloak and holding a rolled document.

It was transported from Italy to the United States aboard the Italian ocean liner SS Cristoforo Colombo.

As the statue was undergoing repair work in 1979, a time capsule in the form of a copper box was discovered.

The Columbus Piave Club, representing the Italian-Americans who facilitated the statue's installation there, opposed the move, and called for it to either stay or be returned to them.