First Freedom Monument

In certain philosophies and beliefs, the "axis mundi" is the world center, or the connection between Earth and Heaven. Fabricated from bronze with a supporting limestone wall of text. the First Freedom Monument was erected to commemorate and promote the American freedom of religion and conscience as proclaimed in Thomas Jefferson's 1786 Virginia Statue for Religious Freedom. The 27-foot bronze spire occupies a corner of 14th and Cary streets with a stone reredos-like backdrop chiseled with an excerpt from the statue.