Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall - Rockford, Illinois - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

"Memorial Hall is significant in several areas.  The military significance is threefold.  First, the Hall contains extensive artifacts of the Civil War and the Spanish-American War.  An extensive collection of Civil War uniforms and weapons outline the collection, which also contains several Civil War diaries.  Even today, Civil War researchers use Memorial Hall as an information center.

Secondly, both today and in the past, the building has been the focal point for the meetings of all Veterans groups and posts in the area.  Each Post has a room that it uses as it headquarters and then holds its monthly meetings in the Post Room.

The third area of military significance is that, after extensive research, it is believed that Memorial Hall was the first War Memorial building that was dedicated to the veterans of all wars.  Unlike other War Memorials, Memorial Hall is a living tribute to all U.S. Veterans and is not dedicated to the veterans of the Civil War only.  It is in this fact that Memorial Hall achieves it greatest significance.

From the standpoint of political significance, Memorial Hall has one episode in its history.  That is the building was dedicated on June 3, 1903 by President Theodore Roosevelt.  President Roosevelt spoke from the front steps of Memorial Hall and praised the efforts of the citizens of Rockford.  In 1903, it was a major undertaking for the President to travel and for him to come to Rockford for this dedication adds greatly to the National significance of this building." - National Register Nomination Form

Street address: 211--215 N. Main St. Rockford, Illinois County / Borough / Parish: Winnebago County Year listed: 1976 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Event Periods of significance: 1900-1924 Historic function: Recreation And Culture, Social Current function: Recreation And Culture, Social Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] Privately owned?: Not Listed Season start / Season finish: Not listed Hours of operation: Not listed Secondary Website 2: Not listed National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

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