From the informative sign near the monument:
"In 1914, in honor of Illinois' 100th anniversary, a 70 foot tall monument was designed for the center of Logan Square. The architect was Henry Bacon, who also designed the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC. The sculptor was Evelyn Beatrice Longman, the first woman sculptor to be elected a full member of the National Academy of Design. The eagle at the top of the monument is a reference to the Illinois state flag, while the relief figures around the base - Native Americans, explorers, farmers and laborers, were meant to show the rapid changes that had occurred in Illinois during its first century of statehood. The Illinois Centennial Memorial Column was dedicated on October 13, 1918."
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"Historic Logan Square was created at the northernmost terminus of the West Parks Boulevard System in the1870's, in a community incorporated as Jefferson Township. Originally planned and created by William Le Baron Jenney, architect of the first steel framed building or "skyscraper", these vast open park-like spaces were to become the City's boulevard system. The "Square" (Logan Square) was actually a large rectangular green-space extending from Albany to Wrightwood Avenues. This open space was bisected by Northwest Plank Road, later renamed Milwaukee Avenue. Later re-design of Logan Square proper and the addition of the monument superimposed the circular template on the square, visually reducing the park's boundary to Milwaukee Avenue and rounding the edges of the park. The boulevards were rethought by the famous landscape architect Jens Jensen and architect Daniel Burnham in the early part of the 20th Century, as part of the 1909 "Burnham Plan for Chicago".
The "Monument" which is situated in Logan Square commemorates the one-hundredth anniversary of the entry of the State of Illinois into the Union. It was dedicated in 1918 as the "Illinois Centennial Monument" and became the primary focal and vista point at the confluence/ terminus of both Kedzie and Humboldt Boulevards.
The architect of the Illinois Centennial Monument was Henry Bacon who also designed the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.. Mr. Bacon conceived a large single Doric column made of Tennessee pink marble resting on a base carved with bas-relief. The Doric column is based upon the same proportions and scale as the columns that compose the colonnade of The Parthenon in Athens, Greeks. Many have thought the Parthenon to be a perfectly proportioned structure, symbolizing the zenith of this ancient civilization. The analogy and symbolism linking the first early great democracy (Ancient Greece) with the foundations of our country's and state's basic democratic principals are brought together symbolically in this great monument. The tall slender marble column is topped by an eagle, the symbol of the State of Illinois and featured on the state flag as well being the symbol of The United States of America. In many respects, this is truly an American monument and must have appeared as such at its dedication, following the end of World War I.
The monument is 68 feet tall, with a stepped base measuring 15' 3" from the platform. The column is composed of 13 solid marble segments, each varying in height from 3' 1" at the top to 4' 0" at the bottom . Total column height is 42' 6" with a 15' 3" high base. The carved eagle atop the monument is 10 feet tall. The diameter of the column is 6' 4" at the base and tapers to 5' 0" at the capital. A reinforced concrete foundation extends down 38' 0" into the earth. The interlocking granite plinth stones, field stone paving, bronze light posts and granite benches are original to the Bacon design. The steps and pathway located to the east of the monument were added at a later date, replacing a series of circular paths that have now been consumed by a widening and curving of Kedzie Boulevard on the western side of the monument."
Engraving on the monument says:
"To commemorate the centenary of the admission of Illinois as a sovereign state of the American Union December Third MDCCCXVIII."
From the Smithsonian Art Inventory site:
Inscription: To commemorate the centenary of the admission of Illinois as a sovereign state of the American Union December 3rd 1818. Erected by the Trustees of the B. F. Ferguson Monument Fund/ MCMXVIII/Henry Bacon Arct./ Evelyn B. Longman Sc. (Top band over reliefs:) State Sovereignty. National Union signed
Description: This monument consists of a broad stepped base upon which stands a large relief carved drum which supports a tall, fluted, Doric-style column surmounted by a large eagle with spread wings perched on a prairie boulder. On the drum are reliefs of Indians, showing that they were the original inhabitants of the land; the explorers Pere Marquette, La Salle and Clark; and allegorical figures representing Transportation, Agriculture, Labor and Fine Arts. Also incorporated into the relief band is a seated female figure representing Illinois holding a scroll of law.