History & local legend
The Water Boy sits at the foot of the staircase in Drexel University's Main Building Great Court in Philadelphia. Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi, later famous for the Statue of Liberty, created the bronze in 1869. It depicts a young man seated on a stump with his dog, lifting a wine keg to drink.
The sculpture appeared at Philadelphia's Centennial Exhibition in 1876 and became part of Anthony J. Drexel's collection. Students later adopted it as a good-luck charm, rubbing the right big toe before examinations. That repeated gesture has polished the toe to bright bronze while the rest of the sculpture has darkened, leaving a visible record of generations of campus superstition.
Sources
- Jacqueline DeGroff, curator of the Drexel Collection, on the statue, its Great Court location, its appearance and the exam ritual
- Drexel University, campus traditions and legends, specifying the right toe
- Alissa Falcone, Drexel University, 2026 history of Drexel and the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition
- OpenStreetMap, Main Building at 3141 Chestnut Street
