The Joe Louis Fist

The fist was comissioned as a gift from Sports Illustrated to the city of Detroit. It was cast in bronze and dedicated in 1986. The artist was Robert Graham.

For some reason, the civilized part of me shouldn't like this statue, but I do. It captures the essence of Joe Louis and to a lesser extent of Detroit. It is a rather abrasive statue given its subject matter but then again, Detroit can be a pretty abrasive town especially given the abuse that is heaped on it from the national media (some deserved some not).

It is actually a pretty nice statue.

A shot looking at it from the Spirit of Detroit Statue.

Looking at it from the corner of Woodward and Jefferson.

Using the zoom lens.

A view of Joe Louis that oppenents did not like.