The official opening of the Ebbingehof apartment complex in the Ebbingekwartier took place on Friday. Two imposing statues of winged lions form the entrance to the residential building, directly opposite the Florentin restaurant. Until more than fifty years ago, the images on this spot could be seen on the distillery building on what was then the site of the municipal gas factory. Kunstpunt Groningen, together with Stadsbeheer, architect Moriko Kira and the residents of the complex, ensured that the statues were returned to the location where the distillery building used to be. Councilor Roeland van der Schaaf marked the opening by cutting a ribbon that hung between the two winged lions.
The statues are made of Belgian bluestone and date from around 1909. On both end facades of the distillery building they were placed as two supporting figures under the gutter. The distillery building stood from 1909 to 1969 on the spot where the Ebbingehof now stands. The building closed in 1961 and was demolished in 1969. However, the two lions were spared. They were then placed in various places on the Circus, Boden and Gasfabriek site (CiBoGa) and eventually went to the municipal storage.
With the construction of the Ebbingehof in 2021, a great opportunity arose to give the statues a place in public space again. Before that, the two lions were first restored. They received a thorough cleaning and a small 'eyelid correction'. This was done by Arnold Heida of Steenhouwerij De Vries Buitenpost. In this interview you can read how that worked. After being restored, architect Moriko Kira gave the lions a matching pedestal and canopy made of blasted concrete.
The maker of the winged lions is still unknown.