The McKinley Monument is a tall

obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by Anc ...

Niagara Square Niagara Square is a public square located at the intersections of Delaware Avenue, Court Street, Genesee Street, and Niagara Street in Buffalo, New York. It is the central hub of Joseph Ellicott's original radial street pattern that he designed ...

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

. Its location in front of

Buffalo City Hall Buffalo City Hall is the seat for municipal government in the City of Buffalo, New York. Located at 65 Niagara Square, the 32-story Art Deco building was completed in 1931 by Dietel, Wade & Jones. The building is one of the largest and talle ...

defines the center of Buffalo that all of the main roads converge on. The monument was commissioned by the State of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and dedicated September 6, 1907 to the memory of

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...

, 25th

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

, who was fatally shot while attending the

Pan-American Exposition The Pan-American Exposition was a World's Fair held in Buffalo, New York, United States, from May 1 through November 2, 1901. The fair occupied of land on the western edge of what is now Delaware Park, extending from Delaware Avenue to Elmwood A ...

in Buffalo on September 6, 1901. Daniel H. Burnham influenced the process of designing the monument by advising that an obelisk should be built in order to call to the importance and significance of the monument. A full restoration had occurred in 2017 as the result of environmental conditions compromising the integrity of the monument.

Description

The McKinley Monument consists of an obelisk of

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

marble with marble lions surrounding the base. It was designed by architects

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

, who had led the design of the

, with animal sculptures by

Alexander Phimister Proctor Alexander Phimister Proctor (September 27, 1860 – September 5, 1950) was an American sculpture, sculptor with the contemporary reputation as one of the nation's foremost animaliers. Birth and early years Proctor was born on September 27, ...

that include both sleeping lions (symbols of strength) and turtles (emblems of eternal life). The circular plot of land donated by the government of Buffalo, New York was 9 feet (2.7m) in diameter and was entirely filled with the base of the monument. Along with the donation of land, the sum appropriated for the project was approximately $100,000. An addition of $40,000 was expended on repairs of the surrounding neighborhoods. Corporations have spent over $30,000 to conform to the monument site. The commission to oversee the entire project was composed of Edward Hubert Butler Sr.,

John G. Milburn John George Milburn (December 14, 1851 – August 11, 1930) was a prominent lawyer in Buffalo, New York and New York City, a president of the New York City Bar Association, and a partner at the law firm Carter Ledyard & Milburn. Early life Mi ...

, Enoch A. Curtis and George E. Matthews. When the monument was fully constructed the base was 7 feet square with the height of 24 feet, while the obelisk extends 69 feet above the base.

Lion Sculpture

In 1905, a model of the four lions that would surround the base of the McKinley Monument was completed by

, who was a very popular American sculptor at the time. Each one of the lions would be sculpted four times larger than an actual lion and made entirely out of white marble. These lions were modeled after Sultan, a veteran lion from the Bronx Zoological Park and weigh approximately 12 tons and are 12 feet long (3.7m). The combination of traditional architecture (obelisk) and wild animals was relatively new to American art, but was expressed within this monument.

Inscriptions

At the base of the column, the following inscriptions are found:

"This shaft was erected by the State of New York to honor the memory of William McKinley, twenty-fifth President of the United states of America." "William McKinley was born at Niles, Ohio, January 29, 1843." "Was enlisted in Twenty-third Ohio Volunteers June 11, 1865, as Major by brevet for gallantry under fire." "William McKinley was elected to Congress as a Representative of Ohio in 1876, 1878, 1880, 1882, 1884, 1886." "Was elected Governor of Ohio in 1891 and 1893, and President of the United States in 1896 and 1900." "William McKinley died in Buffalo September 14, 1901." "Victim of a treacherous assassin who shot the President as he was extending to him the hand of courtesy." "The monument was built under the direction of a commission composed of E. H. Butler and George E. Matthews of Buffalo; John G. Milburn of New York, formerly of Buffalo, and at whose home President McKinley died, and E. A. Curtis of Fredonia."

Influence of Daniel H. Burnham

Architect Daniel H. Burnham had a major impact on the obelisk form of the McKinley Monument. He expressed his opinion on the type of monument to be built after being called in by Buffalo government officials. The location in

in an already existing park posed some constrains to the monument. The tall buildings around the park along with the unknown expansion would call for a monument that commands attention but would still allow for the use of the park. This lead Burnham to the conclusion of an obelisk monument along with a pedestal base. According to Burnham, a fountain feature would be necessary in the monument but would be difficult to maintain in New York's harsh winters. He determined that the pedestal should have artistic value whether or not water was added to the architecture.

Dedication

The McKinley Monument was dedicated on September 6, 1907, the 6th anniversary of the shooting, to commemorate the assassination of

during the

in 1901 during the Old Home Week Celebration. The day of the dedication a heavy downpour occurred but an estimation of 100,000 observers came to remember a beloved president despite the rain. The ceremony began at 3:00PM with a parade of American and Canadian troops expressing international goodwill. Specifically the troops of two battalions of the Twelfth United States Infantry, the Sixty Fifth Regiment, the National Guard of New York, and Thirteenth Royal Canadian Regiment participated in the dedication. Governor Charles Evans Hughes spoke at the dedication of The McKinley Monument. He celebrated the people of democracy who dedicate themselves to public service, encouraging visitors to conserve the ideals that others had set and died for. Poet

Carl Sandburg Carl August Sandburg (January 6, 1878 – July 22, 1967) was an American poet, biographer, journalist, and editor. He won three Pulitzer Prizes: two for his poetry and one for his biography of Abraham Lincoln. During his lifetime, Sandburg ...

wrote a poem about the monument called ''Slants at Buffalo, New York'', beginning: "A forefinger of stone, dreamed by a sculptor, points to the sky. / It says: This way! this way!"

Restoration Project

The McKinley Monument has been significantly affected by exposure to the elements for over a

century A century is a period of 100 years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. A centennial or ...

, so a complete restoration occurred June 2017 to September 2017. The Flynn Battaglia Company was selected to restore the monument. They started by removing damaged marble blocks and replacing them with new blocks from the same quarry in Vermont. The paving stones and stairs were removed and reset in ground, stone poles were cleaned while two were replaced, and the fountains were relined to prevent leaking.

References

External links

* {{Coord, 42, 53, 11, N, 78, 52, 41, W, format=dms, display=title, type:landmark_region:US-NY Buildings and structures in Buffalo, New York Obelisks in the United States Monuments and memorials in New York (state) Tourist attractions in Buffalo, New York Buildings and monuments honoring American presidents in the United States Marble sculptures in New York (state) 1907 sculptures Buildings and structures completed in 1907 Carrère and Hastings buildings Sculptures by Alexander Phimister Proctor Sculptures of lions William McKinley