Billie Holiday Statue

The Billie Holiday Statue on Pennsylvania Avenue commemorates the life and legacy of “Lady Day” who was born as Eleanora Fagan in Baltimore on April 7, 1915. Artist James Earl Reid was commissioned to create the statue in 1977, but it was not fully finished until 2009. The monument's 20,000-pound solid granite base is inscribed with text and sculptural panels inspired by one of Holliday’s most famous performances, the haunting anti-lynching song “Strange Fruit."