Court and city officials rededicated the remains of a 1904 monument honoring Rebecca Salome Foster, “The Tombs Angel,” who devoted her life to serving neglected inmates of the Tombs Prison during a ceremony on Tuesday, June 25 in the rotunda at the New York State Supreme Court Building at 60 Centre Street.

Foster became known as the “Tombs Angel” due to her generosity in providing counsel, advocacy and financial aid to inmates. She died tragically in the 1902 Park Avenue Hotel fire.

Following her death, President Theodore Roosevelt led a campaign to erect a monument in her memory.  The original monument was installed in 1904 in the old Criminal Courts Building and consisted of a medallion likeness of Mrs. Foster, a renaissance-style bronze frame and a marble bas relief depicting an angel.

The monument was largely forgotten following the razing of the old Criminal Courts Building. All that remained is the bas relief, which, thanks to a generous donation from the Paul and Klara Porzelt Foundation, was rededicated today.