Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Bronzeville / Victory Monument (1927) - by Leonard Crunelle

Victory Monument




Victory Monument

Location: 35th Street and King Drive

Erected: 1927 by the people of the State of Illinois, 
represented in the 54th General Assembly 

Bronze sculptures: Leonard Crunelle
Architect: John A. Nyden

Date Designated a Chicago Landmark: September 9, 1998
The structure was added to the National Register of Historic Places: April 30, 1986 
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This structure was erected to honor the achievements of the Eighth Regiment of the Illinois National Guard, an African-American unit that served in France during World War I as part of the 370th U.S. Infantry.

The bronze sculpture was made by Leonard Crunelle. He was born in France in a coal-mining town that was destroyed in World War I. He was a student of noted Chicago sculptor Lorado Taft. The granite column and architectural setting of the monument were a collaborative design of Crunelle and John Nyden, a Chicago architect.

The original granite and bronze monument was erected in 1927. It was dedicated on Armistice Day [November 11th] in 1928 .. The soldier on top was added in 1936 and dedicated to all the Black soldiers who died in the war. It first state-sponsored memorial to African-American veterans of World War I .. The monument is the site of an annual Memorial Day ceremony.

 



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The information on this monument is from the Historical Marker Database .. HMdb.org .. click here ..

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The monument is a white granite shaft with four bronze relief panels .. and on the top is sculpture of a soldier ..
These are:
African-American Soldier Panel
Victory Panel
Columbia Panel
 Honor Roll of the Dead
The doughboy

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African-American Soldier Panel 
A bare chested African-American soldier of the 370th Infantry, 
standing with an eagle in front of him 

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Columbia Panel
Full-length Classically draped female figure with a helmet on her head. In her left hand she holds a tablet on which is inscribed with the names of battles in which African-American soldiers fought.

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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.
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Honor Roll of the Dead ..
Names of 137 members of the Eighth Infantry, Illinois National Guard, who lost their lives during World War I
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The doughboy 
The statue atop the monument was added in 1936 .. the soldier is carrying an American Springfield rifle and wearing the standard U.S. Army helmet of 1917-18. However, the men of the 370th Infantry would more likely have been carrying the French Label rifle and wearing the French "Adrian" helmet in the actions in which they were engaged.
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To the south of the monument is a flagpole that flies three flags ...
United States flag,
Municipal Flag of Chicago,
POW/MIA flag.
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Below are some details of the African-American Soldier Panel 

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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

i really liek the monument and this site does a great job at explaining its purpose and how it is thank you

Jyoti said...

I like it a lot too..
Thanks for writing!
Although I would appreciate a name with a comment.. Wonder why anonymous?

najamonline4u said...

That is a great granite bronze memorials. I loved the blog.