To commemorate aviators who died in World War I, sculptor Paul Manship created an open bronze sphere that suggests the heavens and the earth, with intricate intertwined forms evoking the signs of the zodiac.
This is an absolutely beautiful memorial to the aviators of Pennsylvania killed in World War I. Please pay particular attention to the wall surrounding the immediate area of the memorial. It is a large sculpture. Its height is approximately 96 inches, the sphere has a diameter of 6 ft. and its base is approximately 116 inches. Paul Manship (1885-1966) was the sculptor and Joseph Patterson Sims (born in 1890) was the architect. The sculpture is made of bronze and limestone or possible granite.
From the sign at the memorial: "Shaped like a celestial sphere, this gilded bronze sculpture is dedicated to Pennsylvania aviators who died in World War I. The outer structure suggests an astronomical instrument, and the figures illustrate signs of the zodiac. Sculptor Paul Manship also created Duck Girl in Rittenhouse Square and Prometheus at New York's Rockefeller Center
First proposed during World War I by the Aero Club of Pennsylvania, the memorial was commissioned by the Fairmount Park Art Association. It was donated to the City of Philadelphia in 1950
The following excerpts comes from the Smithsonian inventory page for this sculpture
Inscription
"(Sphere is inscribed with the Latin names of constellations and planets) (Base, front:) AERO/MEMORIAL/WORLD WAR I/1917-1918 (Base, front:) JULIAN BIDDLE/HOWARD FOULKE DAY/(...transcription illegible) ON DOWNS, JR./ (...transcription illegible) CHRISTIAN CLANZ/WILLIAM BESSE KOEN/(...transcription illegible) TON WOODWARD (A plaque with the insignia of the Fairmount Park Art Association appears on the base.)"
Description
"Bronze sphere mounted on a cylindrical-shaped base which rests on a low, two-stepped square base. The sphere is covered with an open design which illustrates the signs of the zodiac. At the base of the sphere is a gold-colored figure of a reclining female. The sculpture is dedicated to aviators who died in World War I. The piece is installed across from the main entrance of the Franklin Institute."
Remarks
"The base was designed by Joseph Sims in 1949. SOS! survey and Bach publication indicate that the base is made of granite, but the Fairmount Park Art Association publication notes that the base is made of limestone."
p align="justify">Philadelphia finally realized how exquisitely dumb their linkage to various tourism sites was so they simplified it. To get to the city's sponsored site for this attractions go
HERE. Smack dab in the center of the page, down just a little bit is a spot called
Favorite Attractions. After the tenth link is another link called
>>View More. Click it and you will be brought
HERE. This is the
Find an Attraction page. Off to the left is a box titled
Category. The fifth link down is
>> Show More, click it and the list of links will expand. The 10th link down is
Public Art. Click it and you will be brought
HERE,
Find an Attraction: Public Art page. Go to the second page. The first link is for the
Aero Memorial link. Click that and you will be taken to the city sponsored webpage for this tourist attraction, which can finally be found
HERE.
Address
N 19TH STREET
LOGAN SQUARE
PHILADELPHIA, PA 19103