Frank Sinatra Statue Unveiled in His Hoboken Hometown on His 106th Birthday

By Daniel S. Levine

Frank Sinatra would have celebrated his 106th birthday on Sunday, making it the perfect day for his birthplace, Hoboken, New Jersey, to unveil a statue of Ol' Blue Eyes. The sculpture was unveiled at Sinatra Park on Sinatra Drive, with over 200 devoted fans of the singer turning out, despite the cold weather. Sinatra's daughter Tina Sinatra attended the unveiling, praising sculptor Carolyn Palmer's work.

The statue is of a six-foot-tall Sinatra leaning against a lamp post with his left hand on his hat. Sinatra's full name is engraved on the pedestal, with Palmer's name below. "Frank Sinatra is Hoboken and his legacy lives on today," Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla said Sunday, reports NJ.com. "Sinatra is synonymous with grit, determination, and ultimately, triumph against the odds. And these just aren't Sinatra qualities, they're Hoboken qualities."

Former Saturday Night Live star Joe Piscopo, who is famous for his Sinatra impersonation, was the host for the unveiling. Tina, 73, also spoke, noting that it was great to see a statue of her father in the neighborhood where he grew up. "It was in his blood, his childhood in Hoboken, I assure you of that," Tina said. "Just know that you can take the boy out of the neighborhood, but you can never take the neighborhood out of the boy – never."

Sinatra was born in Hoboken on Dec. 12, 1915, and his childhood home on Monroe St. has a bronze plaque marking it. He died in Los Angeles on May 14, 1998, at 82. Sinatra recorded countless hits during his life, including "Fly Me To The Moon" and "Come Fly With Me," which were both performed at the statue unveiling by students from the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts. Sinatra also won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for From Here to Eternity and was nominated for Best Actor for The Man with the Golden Arm. He received the Jean Hershold Humanitarian Award in 1971. Sinatra also won 11 Grammys, with his last coming in 1996 for his final album, Duets II.

The Hoboken statue was funded through private donations. Palmer was hired by the city to create the statue, which took a year to finish. The light post is fully functional as well and will remain on at all times. It is positioned to have the Manhattan skyline behind Sinatra. "The light is warm and with the backdrop of the Manhattan skyline and the Empire State Building, it was beautiful and eerie at the same time," Palmer told NJ.com of seeing the statue at night.

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