
Jacques Marquette Memorial - Chicago, IL
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adgorn
N 41° 52.820 W 087° 37.759
16T E 447783 N 4636680
Works in bronze on the facade of the Marquette Building constitute a memorial to Father Jacques Marquette, one of the first Europeans who explored the Chicago region, in 1674-5.
Waymark Code: WM7HP9
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 10/28/2009
Views: 10
From the Arts Inventory site:
Double doors: approx. 8 ft. 7 in. x 6 ft. 4 in. x 3 in.; Revolving doors: approx. H. 8 ft. 7 in. W. 6 ft. 5 in. Diam. 7 ft.; Each of four relief panels above doors: approx. 4 ft. x 7 ft. 4 in.x 6 in.
Inscription: (On lower left of south relief panel over door:) MACNEIL (Below south panel:) "TO FOLLOW THOSE WATERS +++ WHICH WILL/HENCE FORTH LEAD VS INTO STRANGE LANDS" (On lower left of south middle relief panel over door:) MACNEIL 1897 (Below south middle panel:) "IN VAIN I SHOWED THE CALVMET +++TO EXPLAIN/THAT WE HAD NOT COME AS ENEMIES" (On lower right of north middle relief panel over door:) MACNEIL 95 (Below north middle panel:) "PASSING TWO LEAGVES VP THE RIVER WE RESOLVED/TO WINTER THERE +++ BEING DETAINED BY ILLNESS" (On lower right of north relief panel over door:) MACNEIL (Below north panel:) THE DE PROFVNDIS WAS INTONED +++ THE BODY/WAS THEN CARRIED TO THE CHURCH" signed
Description: Four bronze relief panels above the Dearborn Street doors which depict the travels of Marquette and Joliet, and the hardships of Marquette's second visit to Chicago are by Hermon Atkins MacNeil. The decorative treatment of the bronze revolving doors and the double doors including the panther heads on the push plates, is the work of Edward Kemeys.
(Kemeys also executed the bronze plaques over each elevator door in the lobby. These contain busts of important Indian leaders of the Mississippi Valley and leading early explorers. Two of the busts, those of Marquette and Joliet, are not by Kemeys; they are the work of Amy Aldis Bradley.)
The Marquette Building, completed in 1895, is a Chicago, Illinois landmark that was built by the George A. Fuller Company and designed by architects Holabird & Roche. It is on the National Register of Historic Places. Learn more at:
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