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| 40°41′54″N73°59′26″W / 40.69846°N 73.99066°W Coordinates: 40°41′54″N73°59′26″W / 40.69846°N 73.99066°W | |
| Location | Brooklyn, New York City, New York, U.S. |
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The Brooklyn War Memorial is a war memorial installed in Brooklyn's Cadman Plaza, in the U.S. state of New York. It features two high relief figures sculpted by Charles Keck, which represent victory and family, as well as a memorial wall in its main auditorium. The memorial was dedicated in 1951, and later restored in 1977.
Inspired by Parks Commissioner Robert Moses’s desire to provide a World War II monument to each borough, this monument was created. It is a granite and limestone 24-foot-tall (7.3 m) memorial designed by Stuart Constable, Gilmore D. Clarke, and W. Earle Andrews, who worked in concert with the architectural firm of Eggers and Higgins. [1] The two larger-than-life sized high relief figures by sculptor Charles Keck (1875–1951) are located on the south facade, at opposite ends of the building. It honors Brooklynites who served in World War II. The full plan, however, was never fully built because of lack of funding. [1]
At the time of its dedication, November 12, 1951, these were said to be the largest sculptures in New York City. [2] [3] Two figures representing Victory and Family stand to the sides of the inscription which reads:
This memorial is dedicated to the heroic men and women of the borough of Brooklyn who fought for liberty in the second world war 1941–1945 and especially to those who suffered and died may their sacrifice inspire future generations and lead to universal peace [1]
The memorial includes a wall in the main auditorium inscribed with the names of 11,000 Brooklynites who died in the war. [4] The area is now used for Parks Department storage and is closed to the public. [5]
The War Memorial was restored in 1977 and was intended to serve as a community facility for veterans’ groups and arts organizations. The building was actively used by committees of Brooklyn Community Board 2, ceremonies by veterans’ groups, musical groups, theater groups, exercise classes and more. This stopped in the early 80s and only one organization is left in the building. [6] The last active use of the building may have been by Brooklyn College for art exhibits. In May 2006, however, the organization was evicted. In the 1980s, the city began using the granite and limestone building basement for storage. [7] Access is restricted. To view the plaques and list of names inside, relatives of World War II vets must make appointments.
The condition of the building is poor. The New York City Parks Department estimates the building needs $20 million for staffing and renovations, including a wheelchair-accessible entrance and air conditioning. [5] In 1987, the chairman of Community Board 2 signed an agreement with the Parks Department allocating $540,000 for an elevator and other improvements to the memorial. This work was never done. [4]
Grand Army Plaza, originally known as Prospect Park Plaza, is a public plaza that comprises the northern corner and the main entrance of Prospect Park in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It consists of concentric oval rings arranged as streets, with the namesake Plaza Street comprising the outer ring. The inner ring is arranged as an ovoid roadway that carries the main street – Flatbush Avenue. Eight radial roads connect Vanderbilt Avenue; Butler Place; two separate sections of Saint John's Place; Lincoln Place; Eastern Parkway; Prospect Park West; Union Street; and Berkeley Place. The only streets that penetrate to the inner ring are Flatbush Avenue, Vanderbilt Avenue, Prospect Park West, Eastern Parkway, and Union Street.
The Civic Center in San Francisco, California, is an area located a few blocks north of the intersection of Market Street and Van Ness Avenue that contains many of the city's largest government and cultural institutions. It has two large plazas and a number of buildings in classical architectural style. The Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, the United Nations Charter was signed in the Veterans Building's Herbst Theatre in 1945, leading to the creation of the United Nations. It is also where the 1951 Treaty of San Francisco was signed. The San Francisco Civic Center was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1987 and listed in the National Register of Historic Places on October 10, 1978.
Charles Keck was an American sculptor from New York City, New York.
Downtown Brooklyn is the third largest central business district in New York City, and is located in the northwestern section of the borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is known for its office and residential buildings, such as the Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower and the MetroTech Center office complex.
The High Street station, also signed as High Street–Brooklyn Bridge, and also referred to as Brooklyn Bridge Plaza and Cranberry Street, is a station on the IND Eighth Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. It is located at Cadman Plaza East near Red Cross Place and the Brooklyn Bridge approach in Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn. Its name comes from older street names; its original location was at the intersection of High Street and Washington Street. It is served by the A train at all times and the C train at all times except late nights.
Cadman Plaza is a park located on the border of the Brooklyn Heights and Downtown Brooklyn neighborhoods in Brooklyn, New York City. Named for Reverend Doctor Samuel Parkes Cadman (1864–1936), a renowned minister in the Brooklyn Congregational Church, it is built on land reclaimed by condemnation in 1935 and was named as a park in 1939. The park borders Cadman Plaza West and Cadman Plaza East and the west and east sides of the plaza, respectively.
The B41 is a bus route that constitutes a public transit line operating in Brooklyn, New York City, running along Flatbush Avenue between Downtown Brooklyn and Marine Park. The B41 is operated by the MTA New York City Transit Authority. Its precursor was a streetcar line that began operation in 1860, and was known as the Flatbush Avenue Line. The route became a bus line in 1951. Limited-stop service began along the route in 1992.
Eggers & Higgins was a New York architectural firm partnered by Otto Reinhold Eggers and Daniel Paul Higgins. The architects were responsible for the construction phase of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial beginning in 1939, two years after the death of its original architect, John Russell Pope, despite protests that their appointment had been undemocratic and therefore "un-Jeffersonian". Critics argued a competition should have been held to choose Pope's successor. In 1941, they also completed construction of Pope's other famous design, the West Building of the National Gallery of Art, also in Washington, D.C.
The Indiana World War Memorial Plaza is an urban feature and war memorial located in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, originally built to honor the veterans of World War I. It was conceived in 1919 as a location for the national headquarters of the American Legion and a memorial to the state's and nation's veterans.
Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center is a building located in Des Moines, Iowa, that is part of the Iowa Events Center. Named to honor the World War II veterans of Polk County, it opened on February 1, 1955.
The Battery, formerly known as Battery Park, is a 25-acre (10 ha) public park located at the southern tip of Manhattan Island in New York City facing New York Harbor. It is bounded by Battery Place on the north, State Street on the east, New York Harbor to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. The park contains attractions such as an early 19th-century fort named Castle Clinton; multiple monuments; and the SeaGlass Carousel. The surrounding area, known as South Ferry, contains multiple ferry terminals, including the Staten Island Ferry's Whitehall Terminal; a boat launch to the Statue of Liberty National Monument ; and a boat launch to Governors Island.
Elmhurst Park is a 6.22-acre (2.52 ha) public park located in Elmhurst, Queens, New York City. The site was formerly home to the Elmhurst gas tanks, a pair of large natural gas storage gasometers that were 200 feet (61 m) tall. The area is bordered on the south by 57th Avenue and the Long Island Expressway, on the north by Grand Avenue, on the west by the CSX-operated Fremont Secondary, and on the east by 80th Street. The park is owned and operated by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.
The San Antonio Municipal Auditorium was a building located at 100 Auditorium Circle, San Antonio, Texas. It was built as a memorial to American soldiers killed in World War I.
The Clark-Tillary Streets station was a station on the demolished BMT Fulton Street Line, located on Fulton Street at Clark Street and Tillary Street in Brooklyn, New York City. It was also served by trains traveling via what is now the BMT Brighton Line.
370 Jay Street, also called the Transportation Building or Transit Building, is a building located at the northwest corner of Jay Street and Willoughby Street within the MetroTech Center complex in Downtown Brooklyn, New York City. The site is bounded by Pearl Street to the west, and was formerly bound by Myrtle Avenue at its north end; this portion of the street has since been de-mapped.
Macri Triangle is a 0.57 acres park located at the intersection of Meeker Avenue, Union Avenue, and Metropolitan Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York City. The property was designated as a park in 1946 during the construction of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, which resulted in the demolition of buildings along its route and the extension of Meeker Avenue from Richardson Street south to Metropolitan Avenue, serving as the expressway's service road. As the highway ran through the street grid, triangular parcels that were too small to be developed were designated as public plazas, including this one.
Columbus Park is a park at the southern end of Cadman Plaza, in Brooklyn, New York City, United States.
Korean War Veterans Plaza is a memorial plaza in Brooklyn, New York City, at Fulton and Tillary streets. The plaza features a gate and flagstaff, cast in 1992 and dedicated on November 11 of that year. The park is named in honor of the Brooklyn military personnel who served in the Korean War.
The William Jay Gaynor Memorial is a memorial in Brooklyn's Cadman Plaza, in the U.S. state of New York. It features a bronze bust of William Jay Gaynor designed by Adolph Alexander Weinman on a pink Milford granite base. The monument was cast in 1926.
James Salvatore John Novelli was an Italian American sculptor known for his funeral and war memorials.
Media related to Brooklyn War Memorial at Wikimedia Commons
