Liberty Memorial

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KCMO LibertyMemorial 2003.jpg
The Egyptian monumental style can be seen especially on the two side pavilions

The Liberty Memorial is a memorial, war memorial, and war museum in Kansas City, Missouri . It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since September 2006 and has the rank of National Memorial of the United States. Opened in 1926 and renewed and expanded shortly after the turn of the millennium, the building opposite the city's main railway station ( Union Station ) commemorates the United States' participation in World War I and today houses the National World War I Museum and Memorial ).

history

Shortly after the end of World War I, a campaign began in October 1919 to create a monumental war memorial in Kansas City. The foundation stone was laid in November 1921, the inauguration on November 11, 1926. The architect Harold Van Buren Magonigle (1867–1933), winner of a national architectural competition, built a building complex in the style of Egyptian historicism , dominated by a mighty, 66 m high column made of limestone. The establishment was financed by the Liberty Memorial Association , an association of 40 prominent citizens under the leadership of the "wood baron" Robert A. Long, as well as a public fundraising campaign. This brought in more than 2.5 million dollars within ten days, which corresponds to a current value of over twelve times this sum.

Major repairs to the construction were made in 1981 and 2011. In 2006 - in connection with the dedication as the National Museum of the First World War, decided in 2004 - largely underground extensions were started. In September of the same year, the structure received the status of a National Historic Landmark .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ See the historical representation in the official web link
  2. ↑ Listing of National Historic Landmarks by State: Missouri. National Park Service , accessed August 16, 2019.

Literature (selection)

  • Patrick Alley, Dona Boley: Kansas City's Parks and Boulevards , Arcadia Publishing, p. 113ff
  • Derek Donovan: Kansas City's Liberty Memorial , 2001
  • United States Congress Senate: An ACT to Designate the Liberty Memorial at the National World War I Museum in Kansas City, Mo, as the National World War I Memorial, to Establish the World War I Centennial Commission to Ensure a Suitable Observance of the Centennial of World War I. (Paperback) 2011

Web links

Coordinates: 39 ° 4 ′ 49 ″  N , 94 ° 35 ′ 10 ″  W.