Stories of the Statue: Marie Hoplamazian Azadian Interview
- kyle3934
- Oct 10
- 3 min read
My father, Harry J. Hoplamazian (1924–1977), was the Grand Commander of the National Knights of Vartan Organization (1976–1977). The City of Philadelphia was gearing up for the 200th anniversary celebration of the founding of the United States, and his dedication and commitment to unity among all Armenians drove him to search for a project that would demonstrate to the wider American community that the ten thousand-plus Armenians in Eastern Pennsylvania were grateful and united in “thanking America” for the opportunity afforded their parents to emigrate and live in a safe, thriving place after escaping the Turkish genocide in their homeland from 1915–1923.
He interacted with influential Armenian businessmen to find a prominent location to erect a sculpture before the Bicentennial deadline of July 4, 1976. Having supported Frank Rizzo, the Mayor of Philadelphia, they lobbied for a possible location, and the Parks Commission and Art Museum made the present site available.
The Knights of Vartan committees formulated a plan to find a sculptor, which led them to Khoren Der Harootian. He was commissioned to design a sculpture to represent the future goals of Armenians driven from their homeland. Mr. Der Harootian settled on the mythical character of Meher raising his cross before a great battle. The huge task of completing this project kept everyone in our house on their toes. For quite a while, Meher was part of our daily life. My mother, Victoria, oversaw communications and composed written materials, as well as handled Mrs. Der Harootian’s needs. My three brothers—mostly Harry Jr.—coordinated everything related to the site and the foundation of the statue. My father and I drove back and forth to Bayside, NY, to press Khoren to stay on schedule to guarantee that this giant sculpture would get to the foundry to be cast in bronze and then transported to the Art Museum. The side reliefs were a passion project of Der Harootian’s and added another level of complexity to the site.
The week the sculptures had to be delivered, my father realized transporting them on his Mayfield Gardens landscaping trailer would leave the huge cross Meher is holding exposed to damage while passing under overpasses on the route. So, Uncle John Alabilikian and Harry Jr. drove the giant sculpture and side panels from Bayside, NY, to Philadelphia, planning a safe and less dangerous route to protect the cross Meher is holding. The job of erecting and securing Meher was positively heroic.
In preparation for the unveiling on April 24, 1976, a huge burlap cover was commissioned to conceal the sculpture prior to the unveiling, and my brother climbed the tree next to it quite a few times to set up the reveal without a snag on all the protruding figures. On the day of the dedication, Harry Jr. held onto the tree through the speeches and blessings, and all went well! Unfortunately, my father suffered his third heart attack in early April and was hospitalized during the event. We took an 8mm movie to show him how much he had accomplished of his dream to show Philadelphia and all Armenians what we contribute to our “new” society. One year later, his fourth heart attack took his life.
We thank Marie for taking the time to share these 50-year-old memories.
We know many of you have your own memories and connections to The Young Meher Statue, and we would love to hear them. Large or small, every story matters—and we may even feature yours on our website for future generations to enjoy.
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