Plans to honor Berry with a statue in St. Louis suburb University City were sidetracked a few months ago when former councilwoman Elsie Glickert objected to it being placed on city-owned land, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Glickert, who gathered more than 100 signatures on petitions, had several reasons for objecting to the planned statue, including Berry having served time in prison in the early 1960s for violating the “Mann Act” by transporting a teenage girl across state lines.
Last night the city council decided enough was enough and chose not to block the statue’s installation. Although a vote was not held, Mayor Shelley Welch said, “I believe this council should move off this issue,” according to the Post-Dispatch.
The statue created by artist Harry Webber is expected to be placed across the street from his St. Louis Walk of Fame star in a neighborhood called “The Loop.” The location is also across the street from Blueberry Hill, where the newspaper says Berry has played more than 160 times.
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