Statue of Balto

A bronze statue of Balto by Frederick Roth is installed in Central Park, Manhattan, New York. Balto (1919 – March 14, 1933) was an Alaskan husky and sled dog belonging to musher and breeder Leonhard Seppala.^[1][2] He achieved fame when he led a team of sled dogs on the final leg of the 1925 serum run to Nome, in which diphtheriaantitoxin was transported from Anchorage, Alaska, to Nenana, Alaska, by train and then to Nome by dog sled to combat an outbreak of the disease.^[3][4]

Located north of the Central Park Zoo near the intersection of East Drive and 67th Street, the sculpture was dedicated on December 17, 1925.^[5][6] Roth modeled the sculpture of Balto on a New Hampshire malamute named Chinook. A bas-relief rendering of the pivotal journey is carved into the pedestal. Balto himself was reportedly present at the ceremony,^[7] making him the only subject of a Central Park statue to be present at its dedication.^[8]

The statue is a popular attraction: children frequently climb the statue to pretend to ride on the dog.^[9] There is a plaque at the base of the statue, which reads:

"Dedicated to the indomitable spirit of the sled dogs that relayed antitoxin six hundred miles over rough ice, across treacherous waters, through Arctic blizzards from Nenana to the relief of stricken Nome in the Winter of 1925. Endurance · Fidelity · Intelligence".^[5]

La estatua se utilizó en la escena final de la película animada Balto de Universal Pictures de 1995. En septiembre de 2022, el actor Kevin Bacon , quien prestó su voz a Balto en la película animada, visitó la estatua durante un paseo. Publicó un breve video en sus redes sociales donde comentaba cariñosamente sobre la estatua y su papel en la película, titulando el video: "Me encontré con un viejo amigo mío en el parque #Balto". ^{[ 10 ]}

En 2019, el elenco y el equipo de la película The Great Alaskan Race visitaron la estatua. ^{[ 11 ]}

• 1925 en el arte

• Contenido multimedia relacionado con Balto (Central Park) en Wikimedia Commons