107th Infantry Memorial

Last updated
107th Infantry Memorial
107th Infantry Memorial, Central Park, NYC.JPG
The memorial in 2008
107th Infantry Memorial
Artist Karl Morningstar Illava
Year1927 (1927) --
Medium Bronze
SubjectSeven World War I-era soldiers
Dimensions300 cm(9'11" ft× 15'8" ft× 10 ft)
Location Manhattan, New York
Coordinates 40°46′09″N73°58′10″W / 40.76927°N 73.96937°W / 40.76927; -73.96937

The 107th Infantry Memorial is an outdoor bronze sculpture and memorial located at the intersection of East 67th Street and Fifth Avenue in Central Park, in Manhattan, New York, United States, which honors members of the 107th Infantry who died during World War I. Created by the sculptor Karl Morningstar Illava (1896–1954), who "drew from his own experience serving as a sergeant with the 107th," according to the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, the sculpture cost an estimated $60,000 at the time of its construction, depicts the actions of seven World War I-era soldiers, and rests on a 25-foot-wide stepped granite base designed by architects Rogers & Haneman. [1]

Contents

It was donated by the Seventh Regiment New York 107th United States Infantry Memorial Committee, which was headed by C. I. Debevoise, former colonel and commanding officer of the 107th Infantry. [2]

Design and construction

The memorial at night 107thMemorial01.jpg
The memorial at night

After deciding to make seven World War I-era soldiers the focus of his sculpture, sculptor Karl Illava worked with foundry experts at the Fond G. Vignali in Florence, Italy to have the figures cast in bronze in 1927. According to the city's parks department website, Illava used his own hands as the model for the hands of his subjects, and staged the "doughboys" in a manner depicting motion, "advancing from the wooded thicket bordering Central Park, as if mounting a charge." The bronze work was then anchored to a plinth on a stepped pedestal of North Jay granite designed by Rogers & Haneman, architects. [1]

The sculpture itself is 9 feet by 11 inches high, 15 feet by 8 inches wide, and 10 feet deep while the pedestal is 7 feet, 7 tall and 32 feet, 8 wide. [1] The inscription on the monument reads: "SEVENTH REGIMENT NEW YORK / ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTH UNITED STATES INFANTRY / 1917 IN MEMORIAM 1918." [1]

History

20th century

More than 5,000 people attended the dedication of the monument on September 29, 1927. The date was chosen to commemorate the 9th anniversary of the Battle of St. Quentin Canal during which the regiment attacked the Hindenburg Line. [3] Speakers included Colonel Hanford MacNider, the Assistant Secretary of War, New York State Senator William T. Byrne, Major General John F. O'Ryan, and General Alexander S. Diven. The sons of two fallen members of the 107th, Captain Clinton E. Fisk of Company D and Captain Fancher Nicoll of Company L., unveiled the monument. [4] When it was unveiled, many people speculated that the lead soldier was modelled after boxer Gene Tunney, but "[o]fficers of the regiment denied this, saying the sculptor merely had striven to emphasize the characteristic expression of the typical soldier in action" [3] and the sculptor said the figure was based on advertising executive Paul Cornell. [5]

On Armistice Day 1927, the 107th Infantry Post of the American Legion held a religious service and Rev. Peter E. Hoey placed a floral wreath at the memorial to pay tribute to the war dead. [6]

In October 1973, The Commanding officer, Sir Gregor MacGregor of the Scots Guards, held a wreath laying ceremony at the statue to commemorate the units World War I service with the British Army. [7]

21st century

In May 2024, pro-Palestinian protesters vandalized the memorial to protest the Israel–Hamas war. The memorial was graffitied and an American flag was burned in front of the statue representing an Anti-American sentiment among the protesters due to the United States support for Israel in the Israel–Hamas conflict. Some Palestinian flag stickers were then placed on the memorial’s base. [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Charging Bull</i> Bronze sculpture in Manhattan, New York, U.S.

Charging Bull, sometimes referred to as the Bull of Wall Street or the Bowling Green Bull, is a bronze sculpture that stands on Broadway just north of Bowling Green in the Financial District of Manhattan in New York City. The 7,100-pound (3,200 kg) bronze sculpture, standing 11 feet (3.4 m) tall and measuring 16 feet (4.9 m) long, depicts a bull, the symbol of financial optimism and prosperity. Charging Bull is a popular tourist destination that draws thousands of people a day, symbolizing Wall Street and the Financial District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iron Mike</span> Statues commemorating servicemen of the United States

Iron Mike is the de facto name of various monuments commemorating servicemen of the United States military. The term "Iron Mike" is uniquely American slang used to refer to men who are especially tough, brave, and inspiring; it was originally a nautical term for a gyrocompass, used to keep a ship on an unwavering course. Because the use of the slang term was popular in the first half of the 20th century, many statues from that period acquired the Iron Mike nickname, and over the generations the artists' titles were largely forgotten. Even official military publications and classroom texts tend to prefer the nickname to the original titles.

Events from the year 1927 in art.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">69th Regiment Armory</span> United States historic place

The 69th Regiment Armory is a historic armory for the U.S. Army National Guard at 68 Lexington Avenue, between East 25th and 26th Streets, in the Rose Hill neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City, United States. Completed in 1906, the armory was designed by the firm of Hunt & Hunt in the Beaux-Arts style. The building is a New York City designated landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a National Historic Landmark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">E. M. Viquesney</span> American sculptor (1876–1946)

Ernest Moore Viquesney was an American sculptor best known for his popular World War I monument Spirit of the American Doughboy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World War I Memorial (East Providence, Rhode Island)</span> United States historic place

The World War I Memorial is a bronze sculpture by Pietro Montana and is located at the intersection of Taunton Avenue, Whelden Avenue, and John Street in East Providence, Rhode Island, United States. The sculpture is modeled on Charles Atlas and depicts a dynamically posed soldier standing on a granite base. Montana's original design was modified by the East Providence Memorial Committee for being "too brutal". Dedicated on July 30, 1927, Major General Charles Pelot Summerall gave an address which highlighted the handicap placed upon the soldiers by a lack of preparedness and "invoked the fighting ideal embodied by Montana's doughboy." The World War I Memorial was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giuseppe Verdi Monument</span> Sculpture in Manhattan, New York, U.S.

The Giuseppe Verdi Monument is a sculpture honoring composer Giuseppe Verdi in Verdi Square Park in Manhattan, New York City. The statue was created by Italian sculptor Pasquale Civiletti.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">107th Infantry Regiment (United States)</span> Military unit

The 107th Infantry Regiment was a regiment of the New York Army National Guard. The regiment was formed in 1917 and disestablished in 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pennsylvania State Memorial, Gettysburg</span> Gettysburg Battlefield monument

The Pennsylvania State Memorial is a monument in Gettysburg National Military Park that commemorates the 34,530 Pennsylvania soldiers who fought in the July 1 to 3, 1863 Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War. The memorial stands along Cemetery Ridge, the Union battle line on July 2, 1863. Completed in 1914, it is the largest of the state monuments on the Gettysburg Battlefield.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statue of Tadeusz Kościuszko (Washington, D.C.)</span> Memorial by Antoni Popiel in Washington, D.C., U.S.

Brigadier General Thaddeus Kościuszko is a bronze statue honoring Polish military figure and engineer Tadeusz Kościuszko. The sculpture was dedicated in 1910, the third of four statues in Lafayette Square, Washington, D.C., to honor foreign-born heroes of the American Revolutionary War. Born in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1746, Kościuszko later received education at a Jesuit school before attending the Corps of Cadets in Warsaw. He later traveled to France where he studied in military academy libraries and adopted views of human liberty during the Age of Enlightenment. He moved to the Thirteen Colonies in 1776, where the war with the Kingdom of Great Britain had already begun. Kościuszko served as an engineer in the Continental Army, earning the praise of his superiors, including General George Washington.

USS <i>Maine</i> National Monument Monument in Central Park, Manhattan, New York, U.S.

The USS Maine National Monument is an outdoor monument located at the Merchants' Gate entrance to Central Park, at Columbus Circle, in Manhattan, New York City. It was cast on September 1, 1912 and dedicated on May 30, 1913 to the men killed aboard USS Maine (ACR-1) when the ship exploded in Havana harbor.

<i>Robert Gould Shaw Memorial</i> Sculpture by Augustus Saint-Gaudens in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.

The Memorial to Robert Gould Shaw and the Massachusetts Fifty-Fourth Regiment is a bronze relief sculpture by Augustus Saint-Gaudens opposite 24 Beacon Street, Boston. It depicts Colonel Robert Gould Shaw leading members of the 54th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry as it marched down Beacon Street on May 28, 1863 to depart the city to fight in the South. The sculpture was unveiled on May 31, 1897. This is the first civic monument to pay homage to the heroism of African American soldiers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert E. Lee Monument (Charlottesville, Virginia)</span> Destroyed equestrian statue

The Robert E. Lee Monument was an outdoor bronze equestrian statue of Confederate general Robert E. Lee and his horse Traveller located in Charlottesville, Virginia's Market Street Park in the Charlottesville and Albemarle County Courthouse Historic District. The statue was commissioned in 1917 and dedicated in 1924, and in 1997 was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was removed on July 10, 2021, and melted down in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Ludwig Albert Pausch</span> Danish-American sculptor

Edward Ludwig Albert Pausch was a Danish-American sculptor noted for his war memorials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statue of Thomas Cass</span> Statue in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.

A statue of Thomas Cass by Richard E. Brooks, called Colonel Thomas Cass, is installed in Boston's Public Garden, in the U.S. state of Massachusetts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statue of Hans Christian Heg</span> Statue of former Union soldier and abolitionist Hans Christian Heg

Hans Christian Heg is a statue by Paul Fjelde that was cast in 1925 and installed at the Wisconsin State Capitol building in Madison, Wisconsin, United States in 1926. The bronze statue depicting the Union soldier and abolitionist Hans Christian Heg was torn down by rioters, decapitated and thrown into a lake in June 2020. The Wisconsin state government restored and reinstalled the original statue in September 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statue of Frederick Douglass (Rochester, New York)</span> Statue in Rochester, New York, U.S.

A statue of Frederick Douglass sculpted by Sidney W. Edwards, sometimes called the Frederick Douglass Monument, was installed in Rochester, New York in 1899 after it was commissioned by the African-American activist John W. Thompson. According to Visualising Slavery: Art Across the African Diaspora, it was the first statue in the United States that memorialized a specific African-American person.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lafayette Memorial</span> Memorial in Brooklyn, New York, U.S.

The Lafayette Memorial is a public memorial located in Brooklyn's Prospect Park in New York City. The memorial, designed by sculptor Daniel Chester French and architect Henry Bacon, was dedicated in 1917 and consists of a bas-relief of Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette alongside a groom and a horse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statue of William Morrill Wadley</span> Monument in Macon, Georgia

William M. Wadley is a public monument in Macon, Georgia, United States. The monument, which consists of a bronze statue atop a granite pedestal, was designed by Robert Cushing and dedicated in 1885 in honor of William Morrill Wadley, a railroad executive for the Central of Georgia Railroad who had died several years earlier. The monument was erected by a committee made up of his former employees and stands near the city's Terminal Station.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Central Park: 107th Infantry Memorial". New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Archived from the original on July 10, 2014. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
  2. "Ground to Be Broken for Old 7th Statue; Infantry Regiment's Memorial on Upper Fifth Avenue Will Be Begun May 30". The New York Times. 1925-05-10. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2024-05-07.
  3. 1 2 "Memorial Unveiled for 7th Regiment". The New York Times . 1927-09-30. Archived from the original on 2023-10-02. Retrieved 2014-10-04.
  4. "Unveiling 7th - 107th war memorial, Fifth Avenue and 66th Street, New York City, September 29th, 1927, ninth anniversary of the battle of the Hindenburg line" (1927 unveiling pamphlet). New York, New York: New York Historical Society Library, retrieved in 2014.
  5. Miller, Tom (2015). Seeking New York. Pimpernel Press. p. 218. ISBN   978-1-9102-5800-2.
  6. "City to Pay Tribute to War Dead Today". The New York Times. 1929-11-11. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2024-05-07.
  7. Johnston, Laurie (1973-10-23). "Scots Seek Kinship and Commerce". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2024-05-07.
  8. Tuchman, Lindsay (2024-05-07). "Statue vandalized, US flag burned in Pro-Palestinian protest on Upper East Side". ABC7 New York. Retrieved 2024-05-07.