There is no traditional bronze or figurative statue of George Floyd in Minneapolis. What stands at the site of his murder, the intersection of 38th Street and Chicago Avenue, is a community-built memorial known as George Floyd Square, anchored by a large metal raised-fist sculpture at the center of the intersection and surrounded by murals, gardens, and a cemetery-style installation naming people killed by police. A permanent memorial is being designed for the exact spot where Floyd died, and the streets around it are currently torn up for a $14.9 million reconstruction project.
The Raised Fist Sculpture at 38th and Chicago
The sculpture most visitors come looking for is a metal raised fist standing in the middle of the intersection. Artist Jordan Powell-Karis built the first version out of plywood in the summer of 2020. A durable iron replacement was fabricated in roughly a week at the Chicago Avenue Fire Arts Center by a crew of about a dozen people led by Seven Bailey, and it was installed on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in January 2021.1Longfellow Nokomis Messenger. Raising a Fist for Black Power Two additional fist sculptures stand at the north and south ends of the square.
The fists have become the de facto symbol of the site, functioning the way a statue would in a traditional memorial. Their long-term fate is now being negotiated between city staff and the artists as the reconstruction project moves through the intersection.
Murals, Portraits, and the Say Their Names Cemetery
The square is dense with art beyond the fist sculptures. On the south wall of Cup Foods, the storefront where Floyd was killed, a large mural of his face was painted by Xena Goldman, Cadex Herrera, and Greta McLain. A separate twelve-foot black-and-white portrait by Peyton Scott Russell is mounted on a disused bus stop.2The Cultural Landscape Foundation. George Perry Floyd Square
A short walk from the intersection, in a sunken lawn, sits the Say Their Names Cemetery, an installation created by Anna Barber and Connor Wright in June 2020. More than 100 headstones name victims of police brutality.2The Cultural Landscape Foundation. George Perry Floyd Square Throughout the surrounding blocks, 170 names of people killed by police are painted directly on the pavement. The site also includes gardens, a greenhouse, and continuously tended flowers at the exact spot where Floyd died.3Minneapolis.org. George Floyd Square
Where the Memorial Is and What the Street Is Called
George Floyd Square is the name given to the intersection of 38th Street and Chicago Avenue in south Minneapolis, where Floyd was murdered by police officer Derek Chauvin on May 25, 2020. In September 2020, the Minneapolis City Council approved an honorary renaming of Chicago Avenue between 37th and 39th Streets as “George Perry Floyd Jr Place.” The commemorative name does not change official addresses on the block.4Fox 9. Minneapolis City Council Approves Renaming Section of Chicago Ave
At the corner, a former Speedway gas station known to community members as “The People’s Way” has served as a gathering space for vigils and mutual aid since 2020. The city bought the property in June 2023 for $200,000, with the previous owner, Realty Income Corp., effectively donating an additional $420,000 in value.5Star Tribune. Minneapolis Will Buy the Former Speedway at George Floyd Square6Axios Twin Cities. George Floyd Square People’s Way Vote7MPR News. Minneapolis City Council George Floyd Square
The Permanent Memorial Being Designed
A permanent memorial is planned for the specific spot where Floyd was killed, a roughly 25-by-19-foot area in front of Cup Foods. The nonprofit Rise and Remember, working with the Floyd family and University of Minnesota architecture faculty, opened a student design competition on March 2, 2026 for design students residing in Minnesota.8MPR News. Student Design Competition Opens for George Floyd Memorial The competition closed on May 19, 2026. The top ten finalists received cash prizes, and the top three advanced to a subsequent global competition open to professional designers, architects, and public artists.9The Art Newspaper. George Floyd Memorial Student Design Competition
A panel of family members, community stakeholders, and design experts will choose the final concept, and it will then need city approval. Because the memorial will sit within a public street, it may require an encroachment permit or a formal agreement with the city before it can be built.9The Art Newspaper. George Floyd Memorial Student Design Competition
Visiting During the Reconstruction
If you are planning a visit, know that the intersection is an active construction zone. On December 11, 2025, the Minneapolis City Council approved a concept layout for 38th and Chicago that reopens the streets to traffic while permanently incorporating gathering space, areas for art and memorials, pedestrian safety and traffic-calming features, new bikeways, green space with stormwater management and native plantings, and restored transit service with on-street parking.10City of Minneapolis. 38th and Chicago Ave The project cost is approximately $14.9 million, with the largest share, about $10.5 million, coming from city general funds.11City of Minneapolis Legislative Information System. 38th Street and Chicago Avenue Street Reconstruction Project
Construction began on June 8, 2026, with crews working on one block of 38th Street and one block of Chicago Avenue. The current phase is scheduled through late 2026, and the remaining two blocks will be addressed in 2027. The streets are closed to all vehicular traffic through late 2027.12MPR News. Street Construction Starts at George Floyd Square in Minneapolis10City of Minneapolis. 38th and Chicago Ave
The fist sculptures are still in place. On the first day of construction, residents held a brief standoff to prevent crews from removing them, and workers agreed to leave them where they stand for now. Who moves them, when, and who covers any potential damage remains under negotiation between city staff and the artists.12MPR News. Street Construction Starts at George Floyd Square in Minneapolis
Formal Floyd Statues Exist, but Not in Minneapolis
If you came looking for a bronze figurative statue of George Floyd, those exist in other cities, not in Minneapolis. A 700-pound bronze sculpture by artist Stanley Watts, commissioned by filmmaker Leon Pickney, was unveiled at Newark City Hall on June 16, 2021.13WFTV. George Floyd Statue Dedicated at Newark City Hall A plywood statue was unveiled at 1545 Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn on Juneteenth that same year.14ABC7 NY. George Floyd Statue Juneteenth In October 2021, artist Chris Carnabuci’s sculpture of Floyd was installed in Union Square, Manhattan, alongside statues of Breonna Taylor and Congressman John Lewis as part of an exhibition called “SEEINJUSTICE.” Those pieces, made from slices of African mahogany finished with bronze paint, were on display for one month before traveling to other cities.15NBC New York. Vandal Throws Paint on Newly Unveiled George Floyd Statue in NYC
All three were vandalized shortly after their unveilings. The Newark and Brooklyn statues were spray-painted with the name of the white supremacist group Patriot Front on June 24, 2021, the eve of Derek Chauvin’s sentencing. The Union Square sculpture was splashed with paint on October 3, 2021.14ABC7 NY. George Floyd Statue Juneteenth15NBC New York. Vandal Throws Paint on Newly Unveiled George Floyd Statue in NYC In Minneapolis itself, the memorial has stayed grassroots: fists, murals, headstones, painted names, and tended flowers rather than a cast figure, with the permanent design still to come.