Elks National Veterans Memorial

Last updated

Elks National Veterans Memorial
Elks National Veterans Memorial
Location Chicago, Illinois, United States
Designer Egerton Swartwout
Type Beaux Arts-style
Completion date1926
Elks National Memorial and Headquarters Elks National Veterans Memorial and Headquarters.jpg
Elks National Memorial and Headquarters

The Elks National Veterans Memorial (officially the Elks National Memorial and Headquarters Building [1] ) is a Beaux Arts-style domed building at 2750 North Lakeview Avenue in Chicago, Illinois. It is across from Lincoln Park and close to the park's Goethe Monument and statue of Alexander Hamilton.

Contents

Description and history

The structure was planned by the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, who wished to honor members of their order who had served in World War I. A design competition was administered by the American Institute of Architects. Architect Egerton Swartwout's design was selected for the building, which was constructed between 1924 and 1926. [1] Fine marble was imported from Greece, Austria, France, Belgium and Italy, as well as from Vermont, Tennessee, Alabama and Missouri. High-quality limestone came from Indiana. The building's lavish construction and interior decoration and artwork have caused it to be described as "one of the most magnificent memorials in the world." [2] The building features sculptures by Adolph A. Weinman, Laura Gardin Fraser, and James Earle Fraser, and murals by Eugene Savage and Edwin Blashfield. [3]

The rotunda features murals and statues depicting the Elks' four cardinal virtues: charity, justice, brotherly love, and fidelity. The friezes portray the Triumphs of War on one side and Triumphs of Peace on the other. The entrance is flanked by two large bronze sculptures of elks.

The Elks rededicated the memorial in 1946, 1976, and 1994 to honor veterans of World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and all subsequent conflicts. [4] On October 1, 2003, the City of Chicago granted the memorial landmark status. [1]

Besides its status as a memorial, the building serves as the national headquarters of the Elks. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lincoln Memorial</span> National monument in Washington, DC

The Lincoln Memorial is a U.S. national memorial that honors the 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. An example of neoclassicism, it is in the form of a classical temple and is located at the western end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Henry Bacon is the memorial's architect and Daniel Chester French designed the large interior statue of a seated Abraham Lincoln (1920), which was carved in marble by the Piccirilli brothers. Jules Guerin painted the interior murals, and the epitaph above the statue was written by Royal Cortissoz. Dedicated on May 30, 1922, it is one of several memorials built to honor an American president. It has been a major tourist attraction since its opening, and over the years, has occasionally been used as a symbolic center focused on race relations and civil rights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lee Lawrie</span> American sculptor

Lee Oscar Lawrie was an American architectural sculptor and an important figure in the American sculpture scene preceding World War II. Over his long career of more than 300 commissions Lawrie's style evolved through Modern Gothic, to Beaux-Arts, Classicism, and, finally, into Moderne or Art Deco.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Chester French</span> American sculptor (1850–1931)

Daniel Chester French was an American sculptor of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He is best known for his 1874 sculpture The Minute Man in Concord, Massachusetts, and his 1920 monumental statue of Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Bacon</span> American architect (1866–1924)

Henry Bacon was an American Beaux-Arts architect who oversaw the engineering and design of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., built between 1915 and 1922, which was his final project before his 1924 death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lincoln Park</span> Public park in Chicago, Illinois

Lincoln Park is a 1,208-acre (489-hectare) park along Lake Michigan on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. Named after US President Abraham Lincoln, it is the city's largest public park and stretches for seven miles (11 km) from Grand Avenue, on the south, to near Ardmore Avenue on the north, just north of the DuSable Lake Shore Drive terminus at Hollywood Avenue. Two museums and a zoo are located in the oldest part of the park between North Avenue and Diversey Parkway in the eponymous neighborhood. Further to the north, the park is characterized by parkland, beaches, recreational areas, nature reserves, and harbors. To the south, there is a more narrow strip of beaches east of Lake Shore Drive, almost to downtown. With 20 million visitors per year, Lincoln Park is the second-most-visited city park in the United States, behind Central Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adolph Alexander Weinman</span> American sculptor and architectural sculptor (1870–1952)

Adolph Alexander Weinman was a German-born American sculptor and architectural sculptor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albert Square, Manchester</span> Public square in Manchester, England

Albert Square is a public square in the centre of Manchester, England. It is dominated by its largest building, the Grade I listed Manchester Town Hall, a Victorian Gothic building by Alfred Waterhouse. Other smaller buildings from the same period surround it, many of which are listed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Earle Fraser (sculptor)</span> American sculptor (1876-1953)

James Earle Fraser was an American sculptor during the first half of the 20th century. His work is integral to many of Washington, D.C.'s most iconic structures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicago Cultural Center</span> Landmark building in Chicago, United States

The Chicago Cultural Center, opened in 1897, is a Chicago Landmark building operated by Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. The Cultural Center houses the city's official reception venue, where the Mayor of Chicago has welcomed presidents, royalty, diplomats, and community leaders. It is located in the Loop, across Michigan Avenue from Millennium Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Rogers Clark National Historical Park</span> National Historical Park of the United States in Indiana

George Rogers Clark National Historical Park, located in Vincennes, Indiana, on the banks of the Wabash River at what is believed to be the site of Fort Sackville, is a United States National Historical Park. President Calvin Coolidge authorized a classical memorial and President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the completed structure in 1936.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Jefferson Building</span> Oldest building of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.

The Thomas Jefferson Building, also known as the Main Library, is the oldest of the Library of Congress buildings in Washington, D.C. Built between 1890 and 1897, it was initially known as the Library of Congress Building. In 1980, the building was named in honor of Thomas Jefferson, a Founding Father, the principal author of the Declaration of Independence, and the third U.S. president. In 1815, Jefferson's donation of his own book collection formed a core foundation for the library's collection.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">541 North Fairbanks Court</span> Skyscraper in Chicago

541 North Fairbanks Court, formerly the Time-Life Building, is a 404-foot-tall (123 m), 30-story skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois, designed by Harry Weese and completed in 1969. Located on the Near North Side, it was among the first in the U.S. to use double-deck elevators. The odd-numbered floors are accessible from the lower lobby, with even floors serviced from the upper level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indiana World War Memorial Plaza</span> Historic district in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.

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.

<i>Abraham Lincoln: The Man</i> Statue of Abraham Lincoln standing by Augustus Saint-Gaudens

Abraham Lincoln: The Man is a larger-than-life size 12-foot (3.7 m) bronze statue of Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States. The original statue is in Lincoln Park in Chicago, and later re-castings of the statue have been given as diplomatic gifts from the United States to the United Kingdom, and to Mexico.

<i>T. A. Chapman Memorial</i>

T.A. Chapman Memorial is a public artwork by American artist Daniel Chester French. It is located at 2405 W. Forest Home Ave., in the Forest Home Cemetery Section 33 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. The bronze sculpture was cast in 1896. Its dimensions are 62 x 41 x 23 in. The concrete base it stands on is 13 ½ x 21 7/8 x 14 3/8 in.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Gugler</span> American architect and artist (1889–1974)

Eric Gugler was an American Neoclassical architect, interior designer, sculptor and muralist. He was selected by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to design the Oval Office.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minnesota State Capitol Mall</span> The mall of the Minnesota State Capitol

The Minnesota State Capitol Mall includes eighteen acres of green space. Over the years, monuments, and memorials, have been added to the mall. The mall has been called Minnesota's Front lawn and is a place where the public has gathered for celebrations, to party, to demonstrate and protest, and to grieve.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Elks National Memorial Headquarters Building [ permanent dead link ]. City of Chicago. Retrieved on May 16, 2010.
  2. "Open House Chicago: Elks National Memorial". Chicago Architecture Foundation. Archived from the original on September 24, 2013. Retrieved June 26, 2013.
  3. Alice Sinkevitch, et al. AIA Guide to Chicago. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2004, 202.
  4. 1 2 Melanie Ann Apel. Lincoln Park, Chicago. Arcadia, 2002. 96.

41°55′56″N87°38′24″W / 41.9323°N 87.6400°W / 41.9323; -87.6400