Amelia Earhart statue makes it way to the U.S. Capitol

A statue of Amelia Earhart is making its way to the U.S. Capitol where it will be unveiled July 27, 2022, in the National Statuary Hall.

Photos of the statue won’t be available until it is unveiled.

“The statue is currently safely wrapped up next to its pedestal in a climate-controlled Kansas warehouse waiting for its journey to DC,” says an official with the Atchison Amelia Earhart Foundation.

This year marks 90 years since Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean — and 125 years since her birth in Atchison, Kansas, on July 24, foundation officials added.

The Atchison Amelia Earhart Foundation, which has been spearheading the statue project since 2013, covered all the costs for the statue, officials noted.

“The time is long overdue for Amelia Earhart to take her rightful place in American history at the U.S. Capitol,” said Karen Seaberg, founder and president of the Atchison Amelia Earhart Foundation. “The new Amelia Earhart statue will stand as a symbol of her determination, tenacity and courage that will inspire future generations — particularly women and girls.”

Decades in the Making

Amelia Earhart has been destined for the U.S. Capitol Building for more than two decades. In 1999, the Kansas State Legislature voted to replace both of its statues in the U.S. Capitol’s National Statuary Hall Collection with President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Amelia Earhart. The bronze statue of Eisenhower was installed in the Capitol Rotunda in 2003, replacing former Kansas Gov. George Washington Glick. Earhart will replace the marble statue of former Kansas U.S. Senator John James Ingalls, which was installed in 1905.

The National Statuary Hall Collection in the United States Capitol Building is comprised of 100 statues, two sent by each of the 50 states to honor people notable in their history.

Sculptors George and Mark Lundeen created the bronze statue in their Loveland, Colorado, studios.

A “twin” statue will greet visitors at the new Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum in Atchinson, which is expected to open in 2023.

A livestream of the unveiling, which begins at 11 a.m. Eastern, will be available here.