Two new public sculptures erected along the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway were formally unveiled in late 2021. Here in Hoboken, a bronze statue of the late singer Frank Sinatra honors a legendary local-born figure in the park named after him. The other sculpture, an 80-foot tall likeness of a woman’s head, neck, and hand christened Water’s Soul, sits prominently on the Newport waterfront and gazes across the Hudson River toward the New York City skyline.
The statue of Frank Sinatra, unveiled December 12 to align with his 106th birthday, depicts the man often called “Hoboken’s favorite son” leaning casually against a streetlamp and tipping his hat amicably. The whole figure stands atop a round pedestal inscribed “Francis Albert Sinatra.” The sculpture is the creation of Carolyn Palmer, resident of Saddle River, Bergen County, who is also known for having sculpted busts of four popes for a permanent installation at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
Careful consideration was put into the design of the statue, said Palmer in an interview with NorthJersey.com. Sinatra’s stance against the lamppost is an allusion to a 1954 album cover, and the lamppost itself casts light and flickers atmospherically. Palmer placed his age in the sculpture at 45 precisely, and the ring on his pinky finger is one the real man wore. In addition to the sculptor’s research and meticulousness, these details are courtesy of Tina Sinatra, the singer’s daughter, who had final approval over the statue’s design and contributed her knowledge of her father.
At the official unveiling, Palmer revealed the statue with Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla while Tina Sinatra looked on. Joe Piscopo, a comedian known for his impressions of Frank Sinatra on Saturday Night Live, was also in attendance.
Nearby in Jersey City, Water’s Soul sits as the centerpiece of the newly-constructed Newport Pier. Spanish sculptor Jaum Plensa was commissioned by Lefrak and Simon Property Group to design the figure, according to the sculpture’s website. It was shipped to the location and constructed piece-by-piece in 2021, officially opening on October 19.
Water’s Soul attracts the attention of passersby, both on water and on land, with its strangely-proportioned human appearance. Although from either side it appears to conventionally depict a woman with her finger to her lips in an indication for silence, changing position reveals that the figure is contracted widthwise, giving the face an unusual semblance from many perspectives.
The statue’s meaning, as hinted at by its name, is said by the designer to reflect his belief in the importance of bodies of water as unifiers and connecting arteries of the world, represented in Jersey City by the Hudson River. According to the website, Plensa sees water as a metaphor for “individual people [coming] together to create community, exchange ideas and build something incredibly powerful.”
For students interested in visiting the sculptures, the statue of Frank Sinatra is located in Sinatra Park, just south of campus, and Water’s Soul, which is open for public viewing from dawn to dusk through at least the rest of the winter, is located along 1 Park Lane South, Jersey City, on Newport Pier.
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