MetaFilter posts tagged with monuments

A Monumental Achievement

dersins — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 09:02:26 -0800

"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. "

There's a blind desire, there's a drive, there's a need to leave some lasting feat

Wolfdog — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 06:14:50 -0800

Ten highest monuments around the world

The boundary stones of Washington DC.

Wolfdog — Wed, 09 May 2007 10:48:58 -0800

The boundary stones of Washington DC.

Custer Died for Your Sins

LarryC — Sun, 25 Jun 2006 16:34:34 -0800

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.

Naked Washington

dances_with_sneetches — Thu, 27 Jan 2005 09:02:18 -0800

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.

Follies

thomas j wise — Sun, 02 Jan 2005 20:31:55 -0800

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.

National Mall full.

stbalbach — Wed, 15 Sep 2004 16:27:50 -0800

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."

Why We Keep Open Minds

mmahaffie — Tue, 07 Sep 2004 04:37:22 -0800

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?

Southeast Asian Monuments: A Selection of 100 Slides

plep — Sat, 07 Feb 2004 02:13:31 -0800

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 ... '

Shouldn't it be

grabbingsand — Sun, 06 Apr 2003 15:16:25 -0800

"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?

Like the Great Wall of China, but alive

LeLiLo — Tue, 18 Feb 2003 11:03:17 -0800

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.

raaka — Sun, 25 Nov 2001 04:16:57 -0800

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.

aaron — Wed, 26 Sep 2001 00:48:25 -0800

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.

tomplus2 — Mon, 17 Sep 2001 13:31:05 -0800

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?

MiguelCardoso — Thu, 13 Sep 2001 18:48:36 -0800

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?

atfrost — Wed, 01 Aug 2001 20:11:32 -0800

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!