Nittany Lion Shrine

Large mountain lion sculpture of Penn State University

Nittany Lion Shrine

The Lion Shrine after renovation, March 2014

Artist| Heinz Warneke
Year| October 24, 1942 (1942-10-24)
Type| Sculpture
Condition| Renovated
Location| University Park, Pennsylvania, U.S
Owner| Pennsylvania State University
Accession| October 24, 1942
Website| www.psu.edu/this-is-penn-state/nittany-lion-shrine/

The Nittany Lion Shrine is a large mountain lion sculpture carved by Heinz Warneke located at the University Park campus of Pennsylvania State University.

## History

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Nittany Lion Shrine

### 20th century

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The Nittany Lion Shrine at Pennsylvania State University was dedicated on October 24, 1942 during homecoming. Animalier Heinz Warneke and stonecutter Joseph Garatti created it from a 13-ton block of Indiana Limestone. The shrine was chosen from six models submitted by Warneke.

The shrine is a gift of the class of 1940 and rests in a natural setting of trees near Recreation Building.[1]

### 21st century

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In 2013, the shrine was renovated to improve the lighting, add a sidewalk, and add large decorative stones. The improvement was the gift by the Penn State's class of 2012.[2]

### Incidents

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#### 20th century incidents

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In 1966, Sue Paterno, wife of football coach Joe Paterno, and a friend secretly splashed water-soluble orange paint on the Nittany Lion Shrine the week of the Syracuse game. On November 2, 1966, six Syracuse students drove from Syracuse to State College with an old, air-loaded fire extinguisher filled with orange paint. Arriving on the Penn State campus, they found the Nittany Lion statue flood lit, deserted, and completely clean. Within minutes they painted the lion, jumped back in their car, and drove away from campus undetected.

On the way out of town, they spotted a sign for Beaver Stadium, and turned into the parking lot there, prepared to paint the field's goal posts orange as well. Stadium police guarding ABC television equipment for the Saturday game broadcast switched on the stadium lights and raced towards the end zone where the students were located. As the students fled, one of them became tangled climbing over the five-foot high chain-link fence surrounding the field. He was taken into custody by the police, and released the following morning. The students were subsequently brought before Syracuse University's student court, but the case was dismissed as a simple college prank. The Daily Orange published an editorial lauding the students and helped organize a fund of student donations to pay for the sandblasting required to remove the paint from the Nittany Lion statue, a task which was completed by game-time on November 5.[3]

This prank reignited a tradition that had become dormant among eastern football schools' rivalries. Attempts at similar pranks were then repeated many times in subsequent years.[4] In 1978, the Lion Shrine was vandalized when a blunt object was used to break off the statue's right ear. The original sculptor, Heinz Warneke, was alive at the time and, with some difficulty, was able to match the stone and repair the damaged ear. This incident led to the site being guarded during home football games.[5] The right ear was vandalized again in 1997.

#### 21st century incidents

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In 2003 and 2018, the Lion Shrine's ear was broken off again, but it was unclear whether or not it was from vandalism.[6]

## Gallery

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nittany Lion Shrine.

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## Nittany Lion Shrine replicas

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Almost every one of the Pennsylvania State University Commonwealth campuses has a replica of the Nittany Lion Shrine. This gallery contains pictures from several campuses throughout Pennsylvania.

* Penn State Brandywine

* Penn State DuBois

* Penn State Lehigh Valley

* Penn State Schuylkill

* Penn State Dickinson Law

## References

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1. ^ Reed, Tom (October 25, 2007). "IF U. GO: Penn State". Cleveland Plain Dealer. Dispatch Publishing.
2. ^ "Renovated Nittany Lion Shrine once again open for visitors". September 5, 2013. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
3. ^ Viera, Mark (September 11, 2008). "The Past for Syracuse and Penn State Is Now Present". New York Times.
4. ^ Syracuse University Daily Orange/ vol 64, No. 39, Nov. 14, 1966, page 1, page 2-Editorial
5. ^ "Nittany Lion Shrine suffers damage to limestone ear". Retrieved 2012-07-26.
6. ^ "Damaged Ear of Penn State Nittany Lion Shrine Repaired". 28 February 2018.

* v
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Pennsylvania State University

Located in State College, Pennsylvania

Academics|

* Agricultural Sciences
* Arts and Architecture
* Business
* Communications
* Dickinson Law
* Earth and Mineral Sciences
* Education
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* Science
* Health and Human Development
* Hospitality Management
* Honors
* Information Sciences and Technology
* International Affairs
* Law
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* Medicine
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* Technology
* Graduate
* Graduate Professional Studies

Athletics|

| Sports|

* Penn State Nittany Lions
* Baseball
* Men's basketball
* Women's basketball
* Field hockey
* Football
* Men's ice hockey
* Women's ice hockey
* Men's lacrosse
* Women's lacrosse
* Men's soccer
* Women's soccer
* Softball
* Men's volleyball
* Women's volleyball
* Wrestling

|

Facilities|

* Beaver Stadium
* Bryce Jordan Center
* Golf Courses
* Pegula Ice Arena
* Penn State Ice Pavilion
* Medlar Field at Lubrano Park
* Rec Hall

Rivalries|

* Alabama
* Maryland
* Michigan State
* Ohio State
* Pittsburgh
* Syracuse
* West Virginia

Spirit|

* Legion of Blue
* Park Avenue Army
* Alma Mater
* Blue Band
* "Fight On, State"
* Nittany Lion (mascot)
* "The Nittany Lion"

Buildings|

* Academic buildings
* Berkey Creamery
* Nittany Lion Inn
* Old Main
* Palmer Museum of Art
* IST Building
* Mehalso Observatory
* Radiation Science & Engineering Center
* Residence halls
* University libraries

Campuses:
Commonwealth|

* Abington
* Altoona
* Berks
* Beaver
* Brandywine
* DuBois
* Erie (Behrend College)
* Fayette (Eberly Campus)
* Greater Allegheny
* Harrisburg (Capital College)
* Hazleton
* Lehigh Valley
* Mont Alto
* New Kensington
* Schuylkill
* Shenango
* University Park (Main campus)
* Wilkes-Barre
* Scranton
* York

Campuses:
Special Mission|

* Dickinson Law
* Graduate Professional Studies
* Medical Center (Children's Hospital)
* Law
* World Campus
* Technology

Departments|

* Cancer Institute
* Harold and Inge Marcus Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Research|

* Applied Research Laboratory
* Garfield Thomas Water Tunnel
* Penn State Lunar Lion Team
* Correlates of War

Media|

* Daily Collegian
* Penn State Law Review
* Dickinson Law Review
* Penn State University Press
* WKPS (90.7 FM)
* WPSU (91.5 FM)
* WPSU-TV
* Onward State
* La Vie
* Phroth

People|

* Alumni
* Athletic directors
* Coaches
* Faculty
* Olympians
* Presidents
* George W. Atherton
* Neeli Bendapudi (current president)
* Joe Paterno
* Fred Lewis Pattee
* Jerry Sandusky
* Graham Spanier

Student life|

* Army ROTC
* Air Force ROTC
* Penn State Dance Marathon (THON)
* Penn State Thespians
* Penn State women's ice hockey club
* Penn State Glee Club
* Mount Nittany
* Nittany Lion Shrine
* Old Coaly
* State College

Related|

* History
* Joe Paterno statue
* Nittany Lion Shrine
* Child sex abuse scandal
* Death of Tim Piazza

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