World War I Memorial - Atlantic City, NJ
Posted by: neoc1
N 39° 21.076 W 074° 27.282
18S E 546984 N 4355900
World War I Memorial of is located at the intersection of O'Donnell Parkway, South Albany and Ventnor Avenues in Atlantic City, NJ.
Waymark Code: WMPBJF
Location: New Jersey, United States
Date Posted: 08/04/2015
Views: 6
The World War I Memorial, a.k.a. the Greek Temple Monument War Memorial is a circular 124' diameter, green marble, Greek temple with 16 Doric columns set on a stepped base. In the center of the rotunda there is a 9' high by 5' wide bronze Beaux-Arts sculptural group representing Liberty in Distress. The sculpture was created by Frederick William MacMonnies and cast by the Kunst Foundry. The temple was designed by Carrere & Hastings and fabricated by Emile Diebitch Inc. The temple was constructed in 1922 and the sculpture was added in 1929.
Inside and on top of the temple is inscribed in incised capital letters: THIS MONUMENT WAS ERECTED IN 1922 BY THE CITY OF ATLANTIC CITY IN HONOR OF THOSE OF HER CITIZENS WHO SERVED IN THE WORLD WAR 1917-1918. Outside on the top of the temple is a list of World War I battles in which Atlantic City residents fought: MONTDIDER-MOYON, YPRES-LYS, CAMBRAI, AISNE-MARNE, MEUSE, VITTORIO-VEUETTO, ST. MIHIEL, LYS, OISE-AISNE, CHAMPAGNE-MARNE, SOMME, ARGONNE.
The sculpture depicts a nude Liberty screaming in both victory and sadness with the bodies of war dead lying around her feet. She holds a broken sword in her left hand and the body of a nude male is draped over her right leg. A dog, representing Fidelity and a rooster representing France are at her feet. The sculpture rests on an octagonal base with a bronze wreath on each side.