The Great Frieze of the Liberty Memorial - Kansas City, MO
Posted by: 
YoSam.
N 39° 05.078 W 094° 35.027
15S E 363016 N 4327361
Fifth of a series of markers in The Link
Waymark Code: WMM0WQ
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 06/29/2014
Views: 3
County of marker: Jackson County
Location of marker: Pershing Rd, Crown Center Walk, Kansas City
Marker erected by: Kansas City Tourism Bureau
Marker text:
The Great Frieze, commissioned by the Liberty Memorial Association, was designed and executed by New York sculptor Edmond Amateis. Amateis was a veteran of World War I. The Frieze wall is 488-feet long and 48-feet high. The actual carving is 400-feet by 13-feet. Along the top of the Frieze it reads: "These have dared bar the torches of sacrifice and service. Their bodies return to dust but their work liveth evermore. Let us strive to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations."
From left to right (east to west), the Great Frieze shows the United States moving from war to peace. First is the war's destruction. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse representing the immediate returns of war, death and destruction. Next is the spirit patriotism and the unity if action of the Americans in the war.
The next group represent the wounded and maimed, guided by a nurse. The Armistice, November 11, 1918, is represented with the troops returning home. Crosses in a cemetery remind us of those who never returned.
In the center is the figure of Liberty, the symbol of peace and understanding. Soldiers emerging from the wings on the figure are putting down their instruments of war and picking up the implements of peace. A group welcomes them with music.
The ideals of morality, the sanctity of the home, confidence, prosperity and the abundance of nature are represented by human and animal figures.
The Link, an elevated 880-foot long elevated pedestrian walkway, offers enclosed, climate-controlled access between the Hyatt Regency Crown Center Hotel and the Westin Crown Center Hotel, as well as the Crown Center Shops and office buildings in the complex. An additional elevated pedestrian walkway links the Westin with the newly remodeled Union Station.