Why does the Warwick Mall have a replica of the Independent Man? It's such a RI story.

Lately, Rhode Island’s Independent Man has been making headlines.

For the first time since 1976, the bronze statue – gilded in real gold foil – is going to (temporarily) be removed from its marble perch atop the State House for repairs, likely sometime before Thanksgiving, according to state officials.

But this story is about the Independent Man’s less popular, younger twin brother: the replica posted outside the food court entrance of the Warwick Mall.

A What and Why RI reader has some questions about this perhaps less cherished piece of Rhode Island iconography. They wanted to know why there was a replica in the first place. Is it covered in gold leaf like the original? And if it is, how do they keep it from getting stolen?

Let’s dive in.

Why does the Warwick Mall have a replica of the Independent Man statue?

The story goes back to the first time the real-deal Independent Man descended from his perch.

When they took the sculpture down for repair and regilding, it first went to the Paul King Foundry in Johnston where Paul Cavanagh patched the statue. Having the famous statue at the foundry drew lots of attention, daily calls from people hoping to see it, Michelle Cavanagh, the business manager at Paul King Foundry and Paul's daughter recalled.

"We couldn't handle the daily requests," she said.

And so an idea was hatched: put it on display at the Warwick Mall.

At that point, it was the start of holiday shopping season and owner of the Warwick Mall, Lloyd Bliss, was more than happy to bring the star statue to the the mall.

Bliss got the state to sign on, convincing them that the ample parking created the ability to raise money for the bicentennial celebrations, making this an excellent idea, and on Dec. 1, 1975, the statue was unveiled at the mall in a 200-person ceremony for a two-week stay, according to Providence Journal reports. The gilding job, which was one of the main reasons the statue had come down in August, wasn’t quite done yet, but no worries, Cavanagh and artist William Galin said they could finish it at the mall.

What and Why RI: Once home to the first U.S. Navy commander, here's the story of the house on Admiral St.

By the next day, merchant associations in Cranston, Newport and Woonsocket filed a lawsuit demanding that the Independent Man be returned to the State House, claiming the state was showing unfair favoritism to the Warwick Mall and luring customers away from them. That sparked plenty of outrage, but the real chaos happened over the weekend.

Back then, a Sunday Sales law forbade stores like the Warwick Mall to sell anything but “convenience items” on Sundays. The law was pretty much unenforceable, widely disliked (Gov. Philip Noel called it ridiculous), and facing increased pressure from large discount stores, and the malls had had enough of it. So that holiday shopping season, three Rhode Island malls advertised and opened their doors to sell whatever people would buy.

It created, Bliss said, “the heaviest traffic in the history of the mall.”

It also created a headache for Noel. He might have found the law ridiculous, but it would be another thing entirely to help bring traffic to a business that was flagrantly and unapologetically breaking state law.

He ordered that the Independent Man be brought back to the State House as soon as possible, making the lawsuit a moot point.

What and Why RI: Why are Rhode Islanders the only ones who are obsessed with coffee milk?

In the midst of this week of chaos, Bliss got attached to the Independent Man (and likely the shoppers who had flooded the mall to see the statue). He decided he had to have a full-size replica.

“I thought of the idea the day before the statue was to be removed from the Warwick Mall,” Bliss told The Providence Journal. “I woke up in the middle of the night, in fact, and felt like I was losing a first cousin.”

Is the Warwick Mall's Independent Man covered in real gold leaf?

While the real Independent Man is made of bronze and gilded with gold, Bliss didn’t splurge for high-end materials when he commissioned his own.

The replica, for which the Warwick Mall and the Warwick Merchants Association reportedly paid about $10,000, is made of fiberglass. Working from photographs, artist Doug Corsini, who was recommended by Cavanagh to Bliss, made the piece in his Cranston studio in about four months. Cavanagh worked collaboratively with Bliss.

The 14-foot statue was originally placed inside the mall in a fountain and was moved outside in 1992 when the food court got a face-lift. The replica underwent its own restoration in 2022, which Corsini handled.

Mall personnel did not respond to repeated inquiries about the statue, but it appears to be covered in paint, not gold leaf. As for security, there is a small sign near the base that says, “no parking or standing at any time – police take notice,” but that did not deter a small group of teenagers from climbing on the statue the last time this reporter visited the mall.

What and Why RI is a weekly feature by The Providence Journal to explore our readers' curiosity. If you have a question about Rhode Island, big or small, email it to klandeck@gannett.com. She loves a good question.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Why does the Warwick Mall have a replica of RI's Independent Man?