Soldiers Memorial Gate - Brown University - Providence, Rhode Island - Freestanding Arches on Waymarking.com

Soldiers Memorial Gate on the campus of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, was dedicated on April 6, 1921, the fourth anniversary entry of the United States into the First World War. It was designed by Charles A. Coolidge of Boston to memorialize the 41 alumni, students, and one faculty member who died while serving in the military. It stands on the west side of Thayer Street by Caswell Hall and the Metcalf Research Building. Passing west through the gate leads to the Ruth J. Simmons Quadrangle and Lincoln Field.

“An Indiana Limestone arch is planned with three gates, one main gate for marching processions on festive occasions, the side gates for daily use. On the panels at either side are to be inscribed the names of the forty-two students and teachers who died. The whole structure will inculcate patriotism and loyalty for many generations of students.”

...By October of 1919, the Memorial Gate was fully imagined and modeled. Representing solidity, purity, and restraint, the design featured plain walls crowned with wreaths of oak leaves, which were given only to those who saved another’s life on the battlefield, symbolizing the unselfishness of the dead, and with laurel sprays signifying victory. The gate’s cost was estimated at $36,000 and fundraising got under way.

...The inscription in the center of the gate reads “To the men of Brown who in the World War, Gave their lives that freedom may endure.” On the left, from Ralph Waldo Emerson’s poem “Sacrifice,” ‘Tis man’s perdition to be safe, When for the truth he ought to die.” On the right, from Winifred Letts’s poem “The Spires of Oxford,” “They gave their merry youth away, For country and for God.”

Source: Brown University

Type: Triumphal (Monument/Memorial) Subtype: Memorial Location: Brown University - Thayer Street at Caswell Hall

Visit Instructions:
To help give a different perspective and to better this waymark listing for future visitors please tell us about your visit and upload a favorite photograph you took of the arch. Although visiting this waymark in person is the only thing required of you to receive credit for your visit, taking the time to add this information is greatly appreciated.

Recent Visits/Logs:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.