Campus Life

81 years ago today: A Nittany Lion statue photo story

The Nittany Lion Shrine circa 1969 on the University Park campus, with a litter of "mini-Lions" for 10 Commonwealth Campuses. Credit: Penn State University Archives / Penn State. Creative Commons

Oct. 24 marks the anniversary of the dedication of Penn State's Nittany Lion shrine, a gift from the class of 1940. The statue of a mountain lion at University Park was created by sculptor Heinz Warneke in 1942 from a 13-ton block of Indiana limestone. In 1968, Warneke approved 10 one-quarter-scale “cubs” to be made and prominently placed at Commonwealth Campuses. Eventually, every campus received its own version of the statue, and some have since replaced theirs with a larger model. 

Click through the gallery below for a photo history of the Nittany Lion shrine.

In 1941, a wooden model depicts what the forthcoming Nittany Lion statue would look like. Credit: Penn State University Archives / Penn State. Creative Commons

A 13-ton block of Indiana limestone, which would later become the Nittany Lion statue, was loaded off the back of a flatbed truck onto a wooden platform in 1942. Credit: Penn State University Archives / Penn State. Creative Commons

Sculptor Heinz Warneke used a plaster model of the Nittany Lion statue to help him carve the limestone for the permanent sculpture. Credit: Penn State University Archives / Penn State. Creative Commons

Artist Heinz Warneke puts finishing touches on the Nittany Lion statue in 1942. Credit: Penn State University Archives / Penn State. Creative Commons

In 1968, Heinz Warneke approved 10 one-quarter-scale "cubs" to be made. These replicas were prominently placed at the Mont Alto, Hazleton, Schuylkill, DuBois, Altoona, Wilkes-Barre, McKeesport (now Greater Allegheny), York, Ogontz (now Abington) and Erie campuses. Credit: Penn State University Archives / Penn State. Creative Commons

Heinz Warneke returned to Penn State in 1978, at age 83, to make repairs to the statue's right ear after it was damaged by vandals. Credit: Penn State University Archives / Penn State. Creative Commons

Eventually, all the University's campuses received their own "mini-lion," including this one at Penn State New Kensington.  Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons

In 1941, a wooden model depicts what the forthcoming Nittany Lion statue would look like. Credit: Penn State University Archives / Penn State. Creative Commons

A 13-ton block of Indiana limestone, which would later become the Nittany Lion statue, was loaded off the back of a flatbed truck onto a wooden platform in 1942. Credit: Penn State University Archives / Penn State. Creative Commons

Sculptor Heinz Warneke used a plaster model of the Nittany Lion statue to help him carve the limestone for the permanent sculpture. Credit: Penn State University Archives / Penn State. Creative Commons

Artist Heinz Warneke puts finishing touches on the Nittany Lion statue in 1942. Credit: Penn State University Archives / Penn State. Creative Commons

In 1968, Heinz Warneke approved 10 one-quarter-scale "cubs" to be made. These replicas were prominently placed at the Mont Alto, Hazleton, Schuylkill, DuBois, Altoona, Wilkes-Barre, McKeesport (now Greater Allegheny), York, Ogontz (now Abington) and Erie campuses. Credit: Penn State University Archives / Penn State. Creative Commons

Heinz Warneke returned to Penn State in 1978, at age 83, to make repairs to the statue's right ear after it was damaged by vandals. Credit: Penn State University Archives / Penn State. Creative Commons

Eventually, all the University's campuses received their own "mini-lion," including this one at Penn State New Kensington.  Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons

Last Updated November 1, 2023

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