Lincoln Memorial Statue
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GT.US
N 42° 09.445 W 083° 36.062
17T E 285112 N 4670529
This statue of Lincoln by Samuel Adolph Cashwan is made of limestone and was dedicated May 4,1938.
Waymark Code: WM2DJX
Location: Michigan, United States
Date Posted: 10/16/2007
Views: 132
An amazing sculpture you might drive right past if you weren't looking for it. From the Smithsonian website:
A standing portrait of Abraham Lincoln looking pensive, with his hands resting on a low wall behind him. The wall is adorned at the base with two Art Deco style reliefs, one on each side of Lincoln's feet. The reliefs depicts a figures that symbolize Lincoln's service to humanity. On his proper left side the relief depicts a woman holding the hand of a kneeling boy. Around their wrists are broken shackles. On Lincoln's proper right side the relief depicts a woman embracing a young boy and girl with shackles on their feet. The sculpture is mounted on a rectangular base.
The idea for the monument originated with the teachers and students of the school about 1936. The school commissioned the artist, who was assisted by a staff of artists at the Works Progress Administration Federal Art Project in Detroit. The artist chose the site for the sculpture; the Junior High boys did the excavation; and the Senior High boys poured the concrete base. The monument was dedicated on May 4, 1938, the 73rd anniversary of Lincoln's burial. Lincoln School was known as Lincoln Consolidated School at the time of the dedication. The inscription on the base is a misquotation from Lincoln's second Inaugural Address. The sculpture has been vandalized over the years. The sculpture was moved to put in a sewer line, and then moved back. The 1993 SOS! survey reports that the sculpture was sandblasted five years ago. For related information see: Ypsilanti Press, May 5, 1938; and Weldon Petz' "Michigan's Monumental Tributes to Abraham Lincoln," Historical Society of Michigan, 1987, p. 18-19.
IAS files contain: an excerpt from Donald Durman's "He Belongs to the Ages: The Statues of Abraham Lincoln," Edward Brothers, 1951, pg. 240-241; an excerpt from "Scrapbook History of Lincoln Consolidated," collected and assembled by David S. Flower, sect. V, pg. 16-17.
Location Type: Statue/Bust/Portrait
Property Type: Public
Date of Event: May 4, 1938
URL for Additional Information: [Web Link]
Location Notes: Not listed
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