"The “Monuments Men” [wiki] were a group of ... men and women from thirteen nations who comprised the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives section during World War II....Together they worked to protect monuments and other cultural treasures from the destruction of World War II. ...They tracked, located, and ultimately returned more than 5 million artistic and cultural items stolen by Hitler and the Nazis. Their role in preserving cultural treasures was without precedent. "
posted by dersins on Sep 19, 2007 - 6 comments

Ten highest monuments around the world
posted by Wolfdog on Jun 19, 2007 - 31 comments

The boundary stones of Washington DC.
posted by Wolfdog on May 9, 2007 - 52 comments

One hundred and thirty years ago today, George Armstrong Custer divided his forces in the face of a superior enemy and rode to his death at the Little Big Horn. The actual battle lasted about 15 minutes, but the fight over Custer's legacy is going into its second century. Visit the battle memorial (webcam view) explore the archeology of the site, or read an Indian account of the battle. The battle has attracted artists as varied as Charlie Russell (this poster of his painting was distributed by Anheiser Busch and hung in bars across the United States), Thomas Hart Benton, and Kicking Bear (Mato Wanartaka). Little Big Horn is a lonely place today.
posted by LarryC on Jun 25, 2006 - 33 comments

Naked Washington. The Boy Scout Memorial statues in Washington, DC always struck me as a bit odd. Why is this kid leading a naked man? Or maybe, better, why is a naked man pursuing this kid? Maybe if the guy from Naked Washington gets his book sold, we will all know. Meanwhile, it's available on CD.
posted by dances_with_sneetches on Jan 27, 2005 - 8 comments

Follies and Monuments Devoted to the history of English architecture fantastic, outrageous, and (to borrow from the quotation on the index page) "useless." See also this 3D model of William Beckford's Fonthill Abbey (and the facsimile reprint of A Description of Fonthill Abbey and Demesne); folly gardens, historical and current; and a famous French folly garden, the Désert de Retz.
posted by thomas j wise on Jan 2, 2005 - 8 comments

With the opening of the National Museum of the American Indian in DC next week, the National Mall is now officially full, the usable space intended for museums, monuments and other important national sites have been taken. Chairman of the National Capital Planning Commission, John V. Cogbill III, tells the post that the Mall is "[d]one. We consider the Mall a finished work of civic art."
posted by stbalbach on Sep 15, 2004 - 9 comments

Gravity Monuments were erected on several college campuses in the 1960's and 1970's by the Gravity Research Foundation "to remind students of the blessings forthcoming when science determines what gravity is, how it works, and how it may be controlled." I regularly visited the one at Colby College, in Maine. Emory had one, and apparently SMU did as well. Anyone know of others?
posted by mmahaffie on Sep 7, 2004 - 15 comments

Southeast Asian Monuments: A Selection of 100 Slides. ''100 slides of monuments in Mainland Southeast Asia ( Burma, Thailand,Cambodia, Vietnam, selected from the collection of Marijke J. Klokke, are presented here ... '
posted by plep on Feb 7, 2004 - 2 comments

"If the Sons of Confederate Veterans can't oppose a statue of President Lincoln, we can't do anything," said Bragdon Bowling, Virginia division commander of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. He then added, "You don't build monuments to conquerors."

Ah, life in the modern South... it is so nice to see how far we've come, eh?
posted by grabbingsand on Apr 6, 2003 - 68 comments

The Great Hedge of India was over 1500 miles long in the mid-1800s, manned by 12,000 guards (for tax purposes), and totally forgotten until an Englishman spent three years tracking its history. A fascinating travel / history / detective story.
posted by LeLiLo on Feb 18, 2003 - 16 comments

The US’ World War II Monument is expected to open in 2004. The 7.4 acre monument has been roundly criticized as both “seriously flawed” and “off-key”. Apart from these critiques, I wonder if the US memoralizes too many wars and not enough peace.
posted by raaka on Nov 25, 2001 - 26 comments

A few WTC things to start the day: 1) If you have a desire to move "off the grid" or just simply disappear, has the City of New York got a new program for you! Now you can get yourself declared dead with nothing more than a copy of Acrobat Reader and an ability to lie through your teeth. 2) The arguments over what to replace the WTC with are starting to gather steam. 3) That last piece standing of the WTC has been removed for probable use in a memorial. God please save us from another huge OKC-style Memorial From Hell.
posted by aaron on Sep 26, 2001 - 16 comments

Wait wait wait, "The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island will be closed indefinitely"?? Thats what it says, in big red letters, anyone have news on this?
posted by tomplus2 on Sep 17, 2001 - 12 comments

Building a Fitting Monument to the Dead and the Living Anyone who has visited the Vietnam Memorial in Washington knows that the most powerful way to celebrate those who died for their country is a simple list of names inscribed in everlasting marble. So how do we go about remembering the many who were killed - and are still dying - by the enemies of freedom? I suggest rebuilding the twin towers as a monument - same height, same dimensions - thereby restoring the Manhattan skyline and defying those who think they destroyed it. It could be a holograph or actually built in stone or bronze. The names of those who died there, in Washington and Pennsylvania, would forever be engraved there. I hate to think of the site being rebuilt as something else and profits being made. What happened should be forever remembered and regretted. The cost would probably not be more than $20 per citizen. What are your ideas about a fitting monument to the fallen?
posted by MiguelCardoso on Sep 13, 2001 - 56 comments

Call the Vatican. Or Boston Public Library. Or Grand Central Station. A few friends of mine used to use this tactic to see what the weather is like. This is a database of public pay-phone numbers, along with location and occasional sundry information. Read, call, and contribute!
posted by atfrost on Aug 1, 2001 - 14 comments