The ''Eternal Light Flagstaff'' is a memorial monument located in

Madison Square Park Madison Square is a public square formed by the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Broadway at 23rd Street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The square was named for Founding Father James Madison, fourth President of the United States ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, New York City which was dedicated on Armistice Day, November 11, 1923, and commemorates the return to the United States of members of the United States armed forces who fought in World War I, who were officially received by the city on that site in 1918. It was designed by architect Thomas Hastings of

Carrère and Hastings Carrère and Hastings, the firm of John Merven Carrère ( ; November 9, 1858 – March 1, 1911) and Thomas Hastings (March 11, 1860 – October 22, 1929), was one of the outstanding American Beaux-Arts architecture firms. Located in New York City ...

, and consists of a flagstaff and a sculpture by

Paul Wayland Bartlett Paul Wayland Bartlett (January 24, 1865 – September 20, 1925) was an American sculptor working in the Beaux-Arts tradition of heroic realism. Life Bartlett was born in New Haven, Connecticut, the son of Truman Howe Bartlett, an art critic a ...

. The memorial was commissioned by department store magnate Rodman Wanamaker and cost $25,000 to construct. It was completed in 1924. The flagstaff was originally made of

Oregon pine The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Oregon pine, and Columbian pine. There are thre ...

, which in 1976 was replaced with one made from metal. At the top is a luminere in the shape of a star, which, as a tribute to those who gave their lives in the war, is intended to be lit at all times. The lights inside it are connected in such a way that if one circuit fails, another one would take over. The flagstaff is set on an ornamental pedestal made of

Milford pink granite Milford pink granite, also known as Milford granite or Milford pink is a Proterozoic igneous rock located in and around the town of Milford, Massachusetts, covering an area of approximately , as mapped by the USGS. It is also sometimes referred to ...

, with a cap made of bronze which includes garlands and rams heads. The pedestal is inscribed with the sites of battles, as well as a tribute to those soldiers, sailors and marines who died in the war. The inscription reads, in part:

An Eternal Light
An inspiration
and a Promise of
Enduring Peace
This star was lighted
November XI MCMXXIII
In memory of those who have
made the supreme sacrifice
for the triumph of the
Free Peoples of the World

In 1927, in the middle of a parade celebrating his accomplishments,

Charles A. Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and activist. On May 20–21, 1927, Lindbergh made the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris, a distance o ...

placed a memorial wreath on the monument. The press of people trying to watch was so great that the barriers put up to hold the crowd broke, and police had to create a human chain to do the job.Staff (June 14, 1927
"Lindbergh Parade Has 10,000 Troops"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' The ''Eternal Light Flagstaff'' is part of the

New York City Department of Parks and Recreation The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, also called the Parks Department or NYC Parks, is the department of the government of New York City responsible for maintaining the city's parks system, preserving and maintaining the ecolog ...

's "Art in the Parks" collection.

References

External links

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Monument Detail
at Fieldguide to U.S. Public Monuments and Memorials {{Public art in Manhattan 1923 establishments in New York City 1923 sculptures Bronze sculptures in Manhattan Flatiron District Granite sculptures in New York City Monuments and memorials in Manhattan Outdoor sculptures in Manhattan