Elks National Veterans Memorial and Headquarters

The Elks National Veterans Memorial (officially the Elks National Memorial and Headquarters Building) is a Beaux Arts-style domed building at 2750 North Lakeview Avenue in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. The structure was planned by the

Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE; also often known as the Elks Lodge or simply The Elks) is an American fraternal order founded in 1868, originally as a social club in New York City. History The Elks began in 1868 as a soci ...

, who wished to honor members of their order who had served in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. A design competition was administered by the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to su ...

. Architect

Egerton Swartwout Egerton Swartwout (March 3, 1870 – February 18, 1943) was an American architect, most notably associated with his New York City architectural firm Tracy and Swartwout and McKim, Mead & White. His buildings, numbering over 100, were typical ...

's design was selected for the building, which was constructed between 1924 and 1926. 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." The building features sculptures by Adolph A. Weinman,

Laura Gardin Fraser Laura may refer to: People * Laura (given name) * Laura, the British code name for the World War I Belgian spy Marthe Cnockaert Places Australia * Laura, Queensland, a town on the Cape York Peninsula * Laura, South Australia * Laura Bay, a bay on ...

, and James Earle Fraser, and murals by

Eugene Savage Eugene Francis Savage (March 29, 1883 – October 19, 1978) was an American painter and sculptor known for his murals in the manner made official under the Works Projects Administration. He also is known for his work on the Bailey Fountain i ...

and

Edwin Blashfield Edwin Howland Blashfield (December 5, 1848October 12, 1936) was an American painter and muralist, most known for painting the murals on the dome of the Library of Congress Main Reading Room in Washington, DC. Biography Blashfield was born in ...

.Alice Sinkevitch, et al. ''AIA Guide to Chicago''. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2004, 202. The rotunda features murals and statues depicting the Elks' four cardinal virtues: charity, justice, brotherly love, and fidelity. The

friezes In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...

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 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, and all subsequent conflicts. On October 1, 2003, the City of Chicago granted the memorial landmark status.Elks National Memorial Headquarters Building
City of Chicago. Retrieved on May 16, 2010. Besides its status as a memorial, the building serves as the national headquarters of the Elks.Melanie Ann Apel. ''Lincoln Park, Chicago''. Arcadia, 2002. 96. It is across from

Lincoln Park Lincoln Park is a 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 (500 N), on the south, ...

and close to the park's Goethe Monument and

statue of Alexander Hamilton Statue of Alexander Hamilton may refer to: * Statue of Alexander Hamilton (Boston) * Statue of Alexander Hamilton (Central Park) * Statue of Alexander Hamilton (Chicago) * Statue of Alexander Hamilton (Columbia University) * Statue of Alexande ...

References

External links

Elks Veterans MemorialHistoric American Buildings Survey pic avail
{{Coord, 41.9323, -87.6400, type:landmark_region:US-IL, display=title Beaux-Arts architecture in Illinois Cultural infrastructure completed in 1926 Elks buildings Headquarters in the United States Chicago Landmarks Monuments and memorials in Chicago World War I memorials in the United States