Erected in 1927, the Victory Monument, is based on an idea by John A. Nyden, and was sculpted by

Leonard Crunelle Leonard Crunelle (July 8, 1872 in Lens, Pas-de-Calais – 1944) was a French-born American sculptor especially known for his sculptures of children. Crunelle immigrated with his family to the United States and worked as a coal miner in Decatur, ...

. It was built to honor the Eighth Regiment of the Illinois National Guard, an African-American unit that served in France during

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 ...

. It is located in the

Black Metropolis-Bronzeville District Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have ...

in the

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals * Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking *Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civi ...

community area on the South Side of

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

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

. The structure was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

on April 30, 1986. It was designated a Chicago Landmark on September 9, 1998. An annual

Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have fought and died while serving in the United States armed forces. It is observed on the last Monda ...

ceremony is held at the monument.

Description and history

The

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

’s

Archives of American Art The Archives of American Art is the largest collection of primary resources documenting the history of the visual arts in the United States. More than 20 million items of original material are housed in the Archives' research centers in Washingt ...

describes the monument: ::A white granite shaft topped with a bronze

doughboy Doughboy was a popular nickname for the American infantryman during World War I. Though the origins of the term are not certain, the nickname was still in use as of the early 1940s. Examples include the 1942 song "Johnny Doughboy Found a Rose in ...

sculpture. On the monument's shaft are three bronze relief panels depicting life-sized figures. (Victory Panel:) Left full-length profile of a Classically draped African-American female figure representing motherhood. In her hand she holds a branch symbolizing Victory. (Columbia Panel:) Full-length Classically draped female figure with a helmet on her head. In her proper left hand she holds a tablet inscribed with the names of battles in which African-American soldiers fought. (African-American Soldier Panel:) A bare chested African-American soldier of the 370th Infantry, which fought in France, standing with an eagle in left profile in front of him. ::In 1927, the State of Illinois erected this monument in the Chicago neighborhood known as " Bronzeville," which was home of the "Fighting Eighth" Regiment of the Illinois National Guard. The names of 137 members of the Eighth Infantry, Illinois National Guard, who lost their lives during World War I, are inscribed on a bronze panel. The Eighth Regiment of the Illinois National Guard was reorganized as the 370th U.S. Infantry of the 93rd Division, and this regiment saw service on WWI major battlefields. It was the last regiment pursuing the retreating German forces in the Aisne-Marne region of France, just before the November 11, 1918 Armistice. The doughboy on top of the shaft was added in 1936. Fountain Of The Great Lakes

In 1908 while

Aaron Montgomery Ward Aaron Montgomery Ward (February 17, 1843 or 1844 – December 7, 1913) was an American entrepreneur based in Chicago who made his fortune through the use of mail order for retail sales of general merchandise to rural customers. In 1872 he founde ...

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 ''Fountain of the Great Lakes'', or ''Spirit of the Great Lakes Fountain'', is an allegorical sculpture and fountain by Lorado Taft. The bronze artwork, created between 1907 and 1913, depicts five women arranged so that the fountains waterfall r ...

'' at 35th Street and Grand Boulevard (the latter has been renamed as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive.) Instead, the Victory Monument was installed at this intersection. 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. It has often started very near this monument. Recently, the monument has received a grant for restoration as part of World War I centennial activities.

Features

The monument features 4 bronze panels and a sculpture of a soldier atop that was added in 1936. 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 The national flag of the United States of America, often referred to as the ''American flag'' or the ''U.S. flag'', consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the ca ...

Municipal Flag of Chicago The flag of Chicago consists of two light blue horizontal bars, or stripes, on a field of white, each bar one-sixth the height of the full flag, and placed slightly less than one-sixth of the way from the top and bottom. Four bright red stars, ...

POW/MIA flag The National League of Families POW/MIA flag, often referred to as the POW/MIA flag, was adopted in 1972 and consists of the official emblem of the National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia in white on a bl ...

Gallery

Image:20070601 Victory Monument (3).JPG, Close up view facing south Image:20070601 Victory Monument (7).JPG, View facing south Image:20070601 Victory Monument (8).JPG, North walking court plaque Image:20070601 Victory Monument (9).JPG, Memorial plaque Image:20070601 Victory Monument.JPG, Monument and flagpole

Notes

External links

''Chicago's Black Metropolis: Understanding History Through a Historic Place,'' a National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) lesson plan
{{Public art in Chicago Buildings and structures completed in 1927 1927 sculptures Douglas, Chicago National Register of Historic Places in Chicago Outdoor sculptures in Chicago Military monuments and memorials in the United States Black people in art Bronze sculptures in Illinois Historic district contributing properties in Illinois African-American history in Chicago Monuments and memorials on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois Statues in Chicago Sculptures of men in Illinois Sculptures of women in Illinois 1927 establishments in Illinois Monuments and memorials in Chicago Sculptures of African Americans African-American military monuments and memorials Sculptures of birds in the United States Chicago Landmarks

Description and history

Features

Gallery

See also

Notes

Further reading

External links