Photo: Eternal Youth Statue Manitoba Legislative Building Winnipeg

The statue of Eternal Youth atop the dome of the Manitoba Legislative Building in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada is better known as the Golden Boy which was fashioned after the statue of Mercury by Jean de Boulogne.

The Golden Boy Statue atop the dome of the Manitoba Legislative Building in Winnipeg, Manitoba is arguably the most travelled statue in Canada. In 1918, the Government of Manitoba bought the bronze figure from France where it was created by Paris sculptor Charles Gardet and cast at the Barbidienne Foundry.

The model for the statue was Jean de Boulogne's (Giambologna) 1580 'Mercury'. Unfortunately, as World War I was still being fought, the ship bringing the Golden Boy to Canada was put into active service, and so, with the statue still in the hold, travelled across the Atlantic Ocean many times before the war ended.

Finally, on November 1st, 1919, the statue, officially named Eternal Youth, was set atop the dome of the Manitoba Legislative Building. ... continue below the picture...

... The Golden Boy statue stands 14 feet to the top of his head and another 3.2 feet to the tip of the torch which was fitted with an electric light in December 1966.

For nearly 83 years the Eternal Youth faced North without being moved, but in 2002 he was carefully brought down to earth to be re-gilded and checked for damage. Seven months later, the Golden Boy was back where he should be, holding the sheaf of wheat in his left arm and the torch aloft in his right hand, although minus the electric light which was causing some erosion to the statue. These days the Golden Boy is floodlit at night.

The Golden Boy figure atop the dome of the Manitoba Legislative Building in the City of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.