Monument to Henry Horner - Chicago, IL
Posted by: 
adgorn
N 41° 57.665 W 087° 41.896
16T E 442136 N 4645691
Granite stele carved on both sides, depicts Horner as governor, standing outlined against a profile of the state house in Springfield, and as a judge, carved against a blindfolded figure of Justice holding her scales.
Waymark Code: WMDF4X
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 01/07/2012
Views: 3
Continued from the Smithsonian database:
"Carvings in relief resembling Art Deco style.
Dimensions: Sculpture: approx. H. 21 ft. W. 7 ft.; Base: approx. W. 9 ft. D. 6 ft.
Inscription: John David Brcin, Sc. / Capital Prodt's Inc. N.Y.C. (Below relief of Horner as judge:) JUDGE OF THE PROBATE COURT/COOK COUNTY 1914-1932/ELECTED GOVERNOR OF HIS STATE/IN AN HOUR WHEN DOUBT AND FEAR GRIPPED/THE NATION HE REVIVED PUBLIC CREDIT AND/RESTORED FAITH IN THE AMERICAN WAY OF LIFE/LIKE ABRAHAM LINCOLN/TO WHOM HE DEVOTED A LIFETIME OF STUDY/HE GAVE HIMSELF AS FREELY TO THE OBSCURE/AND HELPLESS AS TO THE STRONG AND THE WISE/CONSECRATED TO THE PRINCIPLE OF UNITY/BETWEEN FARM AND CITY CAPITAL AND LABOR/HE WIDENED THE HORIZONS OF GOVERNMENT/AND OF LAW WITH A DEVOTION TO HIS STATE/THAT KNEW NO LIMITS HE POURED OUT HIS LIFE/IN LINE WITH HIS VISION OF THE/WELFARE OF HIS STATE (Below relief of Horner as governor:) HENRY HORNER/1878-1940/GOVERNOR OF ILLINOIS/1933-1940 (Left side of base:) SELFISH/CONSIDERATION MUST/BE FORGOTTEN/PARTISAN DIFFERENCES/MUST BE CAST ASIDE/ALL OF US/MUST PUT THE/COMMON GOOD BEFORE/ALL ELSE/HENRY HORNER (Right side of base:) ERECTED 1948 BY THE /STATE OF ILLINOIS/DWIGHT H. GREEN/GOVERNOR/WALTER A. ROSENFIELD/DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS AND BUILDINGS/C. HERRICK HAMMOND/STATE SUPERVISING ARCHITECT/JOHN DAVID BRCIN/SCULPTOR signed Founder's mark appears.
Formerly located Grant Park, Chicago, Illinois 1948-1956."
Also known as the Governor Horner State Memorial. It was moved in 1956 from Grant Park to its present site at Horner Park when the fieldhouse was opened.
From Wikipedia: "Henry Horner (November 30, 1878 – October 6, 1940) was the 28th Governor of Illinois, serving from 1933 to 1940, when he died in office. Horner was the first Jewish governor of Illinois. First elected governor in 1932, Horner served during the difficult years of the Great Depression. Because of a fiscal crisis facing Illinois during his first term in office, he was forced to ask the General Assembly for new tax revenue. In 1933, he signed Illinois's first permanent sales tax law into effect with an inaugural rate of 2.0%. His administration was marked by integrity and a strong commitment to both conservative fiscal management and the needs of the indigent and those in state institutions. His insistence on stopping graft and keeping state payrolls free of non-working patronage appointees put him at odds with the Democratic political organization of Chicago run by Patrick Nash and Mayor Ed Kelly. They backed a rival candidate in the 1936 primary, whom Horner defeated with the help of a large downstate vote. Horner went on to win re-election in November, 1936.
Horner, a lifelong bachelor, collected Lincoln-related memorabilia and bequeathed it to the people of Illinois. The Horner Collection is now stored and partly displayed in the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois."
TITLE: Monument to Henry Horner
ARTIST(S): Brcin, John David, 1899-1983, sculptor. Capitol Products, fabricator.
DATE: Dedicated October 27, 1948. Relocated 1956.
MEDIUM: Sculpture: red granite.
CONTROL NUMBER: IAS 75004304
Direct Link to the Individual Listing in the Smithsonian Art Inventory: [Web Link]
PHYSICAL LOCATION:
in Horner Park at southeast corner of Montrose and California Streets, Chicago, Illinois
DIFFERENCES NOTED BETWEEN THE INVENTORY LISTING AND YOUR OBSERVATIONS AND RESEARCH:
none, other than "drinking fountain on one side" is no longer there.
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