National monument

“ This gradual completion, as happened to the mediæval monuments of Europe, could be extended through many generations, which would thus be linked with one another in a common object of artistic and patriotic pride gradually growing up among them, as a national monument, with its foundations deeply laid in a unity of feeling and those desirable associations of love and veneration which in older civilizations so delightfully harmonize the past with the present. ”

“ Before the dawn of the century whose eventful years will soon have faded into the past—when death had but lately robbed this Republic of its most beloved and illustrious citizen—the Congress of the United States pledged the faith of the Nation that in this city, bearing his honored name, and then, as now, the seat of the General Government, a monument should be erected to commemorate the great events of his military and political life. ”

“ When property is designated as a National Monument, the Entities will make every effort to take appropriate legal, technical, financial and other measures to protect and conserve the National Monument and refrain from taking deliberate actions which might damage it. ”

“ To those who are aware of the care which was taken in laying the foundation of the Monument, both in the selection and preparation of the bed and in the execution of masonry work, it will be scarcely necessary to enter into any statement in regard to its present condition. ”

“ The park would have circles and [35] every device of walk, all the emblems of the Nation together with forest trees of every State, plants, flowers, &c. The construction of a national monument the committee regarded as of great interest to the American people. ”

“ The national monument to the Forefathers, designed by Hammatt Billings, and dedicated on the 1st of August 1889, thirty years after its corner-stone was laid, stands in the northern part of the town. It is built entirely of granite. ”

“ "I must get off for a bit, or I'll bonnet Joggleberry or get up and propose a national monument to Guy Fawkes, or something silly." ”

“ That in front contains the general inscription of the monument, viz., “National Monument to the Forefathers. Erected by a grateful people in remembrance of their labors, sacrifices and sufferings for the cause of civil and religious liberty.” The right and left panel contain the names of those who came over in the “Mayflower.” The rear panel is plain, to have an inscription at some future day.
LAW.
The total height of the Monument is eighty-one feet, from the ground to the top of the head of the statue of Faith. ”

“ Proclamation 6920 identifies a long list of objects of historic or scientific interest within the boundaries of the monument. In the 20 years since the designation, the BLM and academic researchers have studied the monument to better understand the geology, paleontology, archeology, history, and biology of the area.
The Antiquities Act requires that any reservation of land as part of a monument be confined to the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects of historic or scientific interest to be protected. ”

“ The monument, not more than twenty feet in height, is such as it befitted the inhabitants of a village to erect in illustration of a matter of local interest rather than what was suitable to commemorate an epoch of national history. Still, by the fathers of the village this famous deed was done; and their descendants might rightfully claim the privilege of building a memorial.
A humbler token of the fight, yet a more interesting one than the granite obelisk, may be seen close under the stone wall which separates the battle-ground from the precincts of the parsonage. ”

“ NATIONAL MONUMENTS Count not the cost of honour to the dead!
The tribute that a mighty nation pays
To those who loved her well in former days
Means more than gratitude for glories fled;
For every noble man that she hath bred,
Lives in the bronze and marble that we raise,
Immortalized by art's immortal praise,
To lead our sons as he our fathers led. ”

“ Apart from the numerous national and archaeological societies, whose proceedings contain invaluable accounts of practically every monument of interest throughout the kingdom, there are two societies directly formed with the object of monument preservation in its widest sense, the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, founded in 1877, and the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest and Natural Beauty, constituted in 1894 under the Joint Stock Companies Acts for the purchase and preservation of sites and buildings, which it can hold in perpetuity for the benefit of the public. ”

“ The annual budget of the minister of the interior contains sums to be allotted for the repair of specified monuments.
Switzerland.—Legislation is in the hands of the cantons; Vaud, Neuchatel and Bern have passed Monuments Acts, modelled on that of France. The federal government may allot an annual grant for the acquisition and upkeep of national monuments and for excavations. There is a federal commission, established in 1886, whose functions, mainly those of other countries, are exercised by the Swiss Society for the Preservation of Monuments of Historical Art. ”

“ Whatever may be said to excuse or explain the delay which has been suffered in redeeming the pledge, the contributions of nearly a quarter of a million of dollars which individual citizens have already made towards erecting a monument to the father of his country, abundantly shows that its completion is an object dear to the hearts of the people. ”

“ The Secretary of the Interior, pursuant to legal authorities, shall manage the monument and shall transfer administration of the monument to the National Park Service to implement the purposes of this proclamation. ”

“ This committee carefully prepared a memorial, addressed to Congress, which was adopted at a special meeting of the Society on the 26th of April, 1880. The memorial was presented to Congress by the committee on the 20th of April, 1880, referred to the Committee on the District of Columbia, and ordered printed. The memorial recited, in part:
"The undersigned are not unmindful that strong efforts have been made of late to throw discredit on the design of the Monument, and that various plans have been presented for changing the character of the structure. ”

“ As the number of persons who take a lively interest in ancient National Monuments increases, the monuments themselves gradually disappear, either by decay of time, wanton destruction, or injuries inflicted, without ill intention, by those who are ignorant of their value. ”

“ It was an American Monument, and its construction and management was said to be mainly in the hands of Catholics and foreigners. Complaints were also made of the administration of the association, and of the expenditures and losses in the collections of funds. For these and divers other causes, the Americans of this District resolved in their respective Councils that this work ought to be typical of their Government, completed by the free act of the People, under the direction and by the hands of the natives. ”

“ In many cases, unfortunately, a valuable monument has been destroyed through ignorance of its value. A special form of inventory, carrying with it legal consequences, is that known as the classement system; of this form the French is the typical example. In this only the outstanding monuments find a place, and such either become national property altogether, or the protection and preservation is undertaken by the state, or may be left in the hands of the private owner ”

“ The Commission is authorized to receive and act upon petitions to designate as National Monuments movable or immovable property of great importance to a group of people with common cultural, historic, religious or ethnic heritage. ”

“ Beautiful lithographs, in two sizes, of the design selected for the Monument were printed and placed in the hands of the agents of the Society as certificates, and in the form of receipts, to be given individuals or organizations contributing the sum of one dollar to the funds of the Society. ”

“ The main lines followed by legislation or regulation for the preservation of monuments may be briefly indicated. Central organizations of commissions and conservators, with a staff of architects, inspectors, and archaeological or artistic experts for consultation, are established. These may have large legal powers of enforcing their decisions, or may act chiefly by advice or persuasion. The national treasures are catalogued and scheduled, and the value estimated in an exhaustive inventory, in many cases supplemented by local inventories. ”

“ The walks enclosing the cella, or gallery within, are fretted with 30 massive antæ (pilasters) 10 feet wide, 45 feet high, and 7-1/2 feet projection, answering to the columns in front, surmounted by their appropriate architrave. The deep recesses formed by the projection of the antæ provide suitable niches for the reception of statues.
A tetrastyle portico (4 columns in front) in triple rows of the same proportions and order with the columns of the colonnade, distinguishes the entrance to the Monument, and serves as a pedestal for the triumphal car and statue of the illustrious Chief ”

“ Directly in front of me, the monument to a monumental man: George Washington, Father of our country. A man of humility who came to greatness reluctantly. He led America out of revolutionary victory into infant nationhood. Off to one side, the stately memorial to Thomas Jefferson. The Declaration of Independence flames with his eloquence.
And then beyond the Reflecting Pool the dignified columns of the Lincoln Memorial. Whoever would understand in his heart the meaning of America will find it in the life of Abraham Lincoln.
Beyond those monuments to heroism is the Potomac River, and on the far shore the sloping hills of Arlington National Cemetery with its row on row of simple white markers bearing crosses or Stars of David. ”

“ To those who deem their views true, we need make no appeal. Monuments are erected in stone, in marble, or in gold, to those whose actions in peace or in war commend themselves to their own generation; the monuments to those in advance of their times and of our times, are to be found only in the hearts of thinkers. It was but yesterday, after some two hundred and fifty years, that public sentiment tolerated the erection of a public monument to the memory of the man who delivered his country from under the tyranny of Kings. ”

“ The monument speaks for itself— simple in form, admirable in proportions, composed of enduring marble and granite, resting upon foundations broad and deep, it rises into the skies higher than any work of human art. ”

“ Within these mounds we must look for the only authentic remains of their builders. They are the principal depositories of ancient art; they cover the bones of the distinguished dead of remote ages; and hide from the profane gaze of invading races the altars of the ancient people.
A simple heap of earth or stones seems to have been the first monument which suggested itself to man; the pyramid, the arch, and the obelisk are evidences of a more advanced state. ”

“ Erosion is still going on slowly and persistently among the great pillared cliffs of the monument. Some of the most exposed portions have already been worn away. 2 Pedestal or balanced rocks have formed and fallen; others are tottering; more are just taking shape. Within the span of a human life, only minor changes may be noticed, but with the passage of the centuries the face of Nature is ever changing. ”

“ While there I took a sketch, wherein I introduced the father of New England rivers, and the bald peak of Mount Lafayette, with the storm-inflicted scar upon its brow. A noble monument is yonder mountain to the memory of a noble man. ”

“ But, in any case, whatever may be the future of architecture, in whatever manner our young architects may one day solve the question of their art, let us, while waiting for new monuments, preserve the ancient monuments. Let us, if possible, inspire the nation with a love for national architecture. ”

“ Long, long ago, beneath heaven's stormy slope,
In deeds of faith and hope,
Our fathers laid Freedom's foundations here,
And raised, invisible, vast,—
Embodying naught of doubt or fear,
A monument whose greatness shall outlast
The future, as the past,
Of all the Old World's dynasties and kings.—
A symbol of all things
That we would speak, but cannot say in words,
Of those who first began our Nation here,
Behold, we now would rear!
A different monument! a thought, that girds
Itself with granite; dream made visible
In rock and bronze to tell
To all the Future what here once befell ”

“ Lay the corner-stone of a monument which shall adequately bespeak the gratitude of the whole American people to the illustrious father of his country! Build it to the skies; you can not outreach the loftiness of his principles! Found it upon the massive and eternal rock; you can not make it more enduring than his fame! Construct it of the peerless Parian marble; you cannot make it purer than his life! ”

“ Perhaps, the few prairie-dog sentinels that had stood motionless in the March wind wished that the spring would come. The sharp wind divides the dense fur of their winter coats while they survey the snow-skiffed ground of their silent town. They almost appear to regard the sun wistfully, wishing it strong, the snow gone, and the grass resurgent once again. But at last the meadowlarks lose their winter-long quiet, and the horned larks now lift up with extravagance, unhuddling from their long ordeal. ”