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Sophie B. Wright Statue

Sophie B. Wright (1886-1919) is one of many outstanding educators that greatly influenced the New Orleans area.  Beginning at age 14, when she founded the Home Institute, a well regarded private school, Sophie Wright also started the first free night school for working boys who otherwise would have gone without any formal education.

This statue of Sophie B. Wright, designed by artist Enrique Alferez, was installed in 1988 and is located in Sophie Wright Park on Magazine Street at the corner of Sophie B. Wright Place.

There is also a junior high school named for Sophie Wright and, although now coed, it was the first public girls school in the city, as well as the first public building in New Orleans named for a woman.

Information Source: Gehman, Mary and Ries, Nancy. Women and New Orleans A History. New Orleans, LA: Margaret Media, Inc. 1996.

--Content prepared by Todd McKinnon.

Copyright (c) 1999; all rights reserved.

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