Liberty Memorial Photo

Photographer’s Note

The Liberty Memorial, recently restored, is a prominent feature of the Kansas City skyline, and is lit at night as well as having a steam generator that runs in the evenings to convey the concept of an 'eternal flame.' This is the only remaining WWI monument in the United States, and features an extensive WWI museum that will be opening soon.

A community-based fund-raising drive in 1919, led by this Association, raised over $2,500,000 in less than two weeks through public subscription in Kansas City and around the nation. This staggering accomplishment reflected the passion of public opinion about the Great War, which so recently ended. Following the drive, a national architectural competition was held for monument designs by the American Institute of Architects.
The site for the Liberty Memorial was dedicated on November 1, 1921. The main Allied military leaders spoke to a crowd of close to 200,000 people. It was the only time in history that these leaders were together at one place. In attendance were Lieutenant General Baron Jacques of Belgium; General Armando Diaz of Italy; Marshal Ferdinand Foch of France; General John J. Pershing of the United States; and Admiral Lord Earl Beatty of Great Britain.

After three years of construction, the completed Liberty Memorial opened on November 11, 1926 –eight years after the end of the War. President Calvin Coolidge delivered the dedication speech, in which he spoke of how "the magnitude of this memorial, and the broad base of popular support on which it rests, can scarcely fail to excite national wonder and admiration."

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Critiques | Translate

davecall (575) 2004-05-04 11:46

I like the vastness of this photo, which just typifies the USA for me. A vast, open country. I like the colour of the sky and the pillar is more interesting the closer you look. Not a bad effort.

pamastro (7213) 2004-05-04 16:13

Nice job. Like davecall says this has a very vast feel with that big blue sky taking up so much of the image. I really like that. It matches the architecture, too. Clean and smooth. That's a very nice tower and so is the building and sculpture to the left of it. I would just say maybe crop it, so the stairs are completely out of the picture. Cut it off just at the top stair and the big, vast, sky feel would be even stronger with just a sliver of ground in the photo. And if you had been able to get a wider view with the entire tree on the left that would have added, too. But it really is very nice as it is. Really vast. Great, clean, architecture matching the apparent landscape. And the decade, perhaps, too. Very nicely done.