Victory Sculpture | |
Location | 35th Street and King Drive Chicago, IL |
---|---|
Coordinates | 41°49′50.6″N87°37′1.7″W / 41.830722°N 87.617139°W |
Built | 1927 |
Architect | John A. Nyden |
Sculptor | Leonard Crunelle |
MPS | Black Metropolis TR |
NRHP reference No. | 86001089 [1] |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | April 30, 1986 |
Designated CL | September 9, 1998 |
Erected in 1927, the Victory Monument, is a bronze and granite sculptural monument, based on a concept by John A. Nyden, and sculpted by Leonard Crunelle. [2] It was built to honor the Eighth Regiment of the Illinois National Guard, an African-American unit that served with distinction in France during World War I. [1] It may be the only memorial statue dedicated to African-American soldiers of the Great War. [3]
The memorial monument is located in the Black Metropolis-Bronzeville District in the Douglas community area on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois. The structure was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 30, 1986. [1] It was designated a Chicago Landmark on September 9, 1998. [4] An annual Memorial Day ceremony is held at the monument. [4]
The Smithsonian Institution’s Archives of American Art describes the monument:
In 1908 while Aaron Montgomery Ward was contesting the land use law for Grant Park for a second time in the Illinois Supreme Court, the Art Institute of Chicago considered locating the Fountain of the Great Lakes at 35th Street and Grand Boulevard (the latter has been renamed as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive.) [6] Instead, the Victory Monument was installed at this intersection. [4]
The Bud Billiken Parade has for many years traveled along King Drive. In some years, the Parade has started at 31st and King and in other years it has started as far south as 39th and King Drive. [7] [8] It has often started very near this monument.
In 2017, the monument received a grant for restoration as part of World War I centennial activities. [9]
The monument features 4 bronze panels and a sculpture of a soldier atop that was added in 1936. [4] To the north of the monument is a court with 4 plaques in the large tilings. The plaques honor Robert Henry Lawrence, Jr., Truman Gibson, Sr./Truman Gibson, Jr., Franklin A. Denison, & George R. Giles. To the south of the monument is a flagpole that flies the United States flag, Flag of Chicago, POW/MIA flag.
The 369th Infantry Regiment, originally formed as the 15th New York National Guard Regiment before it was re-organized as the 369th upon its federalization and commonly referred to as the Harlem Hellfighters, was an infantry regiment of the New York Army National Guard during World War I and World War II. The regiment mainly consisted of African Americans, but it also included men from Puerto Rico, Cuba, Guyana, Liberia, Portugal, Canada, the West Indies, as well as white American officers. With the 370th Infantry Regiment, it was known for being one of the first African-American regiments to serve with the American Expeditionary Forces during World War I.
The 93rd Infantry Division was a "colored" segregated unit of the United States Army in World War I and World War II. However, in World War I only its four infantry regiments, two brigade headquarters, and a provisional division headquarters were organized, and the divisional and brigade headquarters were demobilized in May 1918. Its regiments fought primarily under French command in that war and saw action during the Second Battle of the Marne. They acquired the nickname Blue Helmets from the French, as these units were issued horizon blue French Adrian helmets. Consequently, its shoulder patch became a blue French helmet, to commemorate its service with the French Army during the German spring offensive.
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The Bud Billiken Parade and Picnic is an annual parade held since 1929 in Chicago, Illinois. The Bud Billiken Day Parade is the largest African-American parade in the United States. Held annually on the city's south side on the second Saturday in August, the parade route travels on Dr. Martin Luther King Drive through the Bronzeville and Washington Park neighborhoods. At the end of the parade, in the historic Washington public park is a picnic and festival. Robert S. Abbott, the founder and publisher of the Chicago Defender newspaper, created the fictional character of Bud Billiken, which he featured in a youth advice column in his paper. David Kellum, co-founder of the newspaper sponsored Bud Billiken Club and longtime parade coordinator suggested the parade as a celebration of African-American life.
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The Stephen A. Douglas Tomb and Memorial or Stephen Douglas Monument Park is a memorial that includes the tomb of United States Senator Stephen A. Douglas (1813–1861). It is located at 636 E. 35th Street in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, near the site of the Union Army and prisoner of war Camp Douglas. The land was originally owned by Douglas’ estate but was sold to the state of Illinois, when it became known as “Camp Douglas” serving first as training grounds for Union soldiers during the Civil War, then as a prisoner of war camp.
The Black Metropolis–Bronzeville District is a historic African American district in the Bronzeville neighborhood of the Douglas community area on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois.
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The Eighth Regiment Armory, located in the Black Metropolis-Bronzeville District of Chicago, Illinois, was the first armory in the United States built for an African-American military regiment, known as the "Fighting 8th". The building later was used by a division of the Illinois National Guard, and during World War I was incorporated into the US Infantry. After closing the armory in the early 1960s, it became the South Central Gymnasium. In 1999, following an extensive renovation, it was reopened as a public high school military academy. The restoration and conversion into a school has been recognized by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
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The 370th Infantry Regiment was the designation for one of the infantry regiments of the 93rd (Provisional) Infantry Division in World War I. Known as the "Black Devils", for their fierce fighting during the First World War and a segregated unit, it was the only United States Army combat unit with African-American officers. In World War II, a regiment known as the 370th Infantry Regiment was part of the segregated 92nd Infantry Division, but did not perpetuate the lineage of the 8th Illinois or World War I 370th, only sharing its numerical designation.
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