Fred Lebow Statue

Fischel Lebowitz was born into an Orthodox Jewish family in Arad, Romania on June 3, 1932. He was one of seven children. Before the Soviet occupation of Romania near the end of the Second World War, Lebowitz fled his native country. For the next two decades or so, he moved around Europe, living in Czechoslovakia, the Netherlands, and Ireland. In the 1960s, he immigrated to the United States and settled in New York City, where he began a successful career in the city’s garment and textile industry. In preparation for his new life in the United States and in an effort to better assimilate, he changed his name to Fred Lebow. 

After taking up residence in New York City, Lebow began running to build his stamina for playing tennis, his favorite sport at the time. In the process, however, he discovered a passion for distance running. In 1970, with $300 of his own money, he organized the first New York City Marathon. The inaugural race included 127 participants who ran four laps around Central Park. Six years later, the marathon’s route was altered to include all five of the city’s boroughs. By 1985, it had become the largest marathon in the world. Today, more than 50,000 runners participate in the New York City Marathon. Additionally, the event draws major corporate sponsors and millions of spectators each year.

In 1972, Lebow became president of the New York Road Runners. He would hold the position until his retirement in 1993. During Lebow’s more than two decades at the helm, the organization sponsored programs and events that promoted the sport of running and helped to ensure the safety of runners in Central Park. Under Lebow’s leadership, the New York City Road Runners grew to become the largest running club in the world. 

In 1990, Lebow received the devastating news that he had been diagnosed with brain cancer. Despite the grim prognosis, he continued to organize and run the New York City Marathon, in addition to serving as the president of the New York Road Runners Club. Lebow died of the disease on October 9, 1994. He was sixty-two years old. 

Only days after Lebow’s death, Daniel Mitrovich organized the New York City Marathon Tribute Committee and commissioned San Diego artist Jesus Ygnacio Dominguez to create a sculpture in Lebow’s honor. On November 4, at the 1994 running of the New York City Marathon, the bronze, life-sized statue of Lebow was unveiled near the race’s finish line in Central Park. In attendance at the dedication ceremony were members of Lebow’s family, twenty-three past winners of the marathon, and hundreds of other spectators. At the time of the unveiling, a moratorium was in place on new statues and monuments in Central Park. To circumvent the policy, the statue was designated as temporary, meaning that for it to stay in Central Park it needed to be moved at least once a year. For most of the year, the statue stands along East Drive near East 90th Street. For the marathon each year, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation moves it to a location near the race’s finish line near West 67th Street. 

"Fred Lebow." Encyclopaedia Britannica. Web. 11 November 2020 <https://www.britannica.com/biography/Fred-Lebow>.

"Fred Lebow Statue." New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. The City of New York. Web. 11 November 2020 <https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/central-park/highlights/11248>.