Peace Monuments With Collections

Chick here for groups of peace monuments in different locations.

Click any image to enlarge.

B E L L S

1925 - International Bell Museum, 982 Upper Bear Creek Road, Evergreen, Colorado (USA). "Details the art of bellmaking with its collection of over 3,000 bells. The exhibit covers the history & development of bells, with some examples of bells that are over 3,000 years old." /// "Gone. Housed a collection of over 6,000 bells, collected since 1925." /// From obituary in Denver Post: "Winston H. Jones, who died at age 92 on Aug. 14, 2006, in Evergreen, spent his life filling his home & yard with a vast collection of bells that he tolled each July 4 in a tradition that began with a request from President John F. Kennedy. At noon each Independence Day, Jones & volunteers rang every outside bell in his collection, creating a clangor that reverberated in the bones of the people who gathered to listen. In 1995, National Public Radio carried a live broadcast of the tradition, with Jones exclaiming theatrically, 'It's going to be wild. Get ready, get ready! Here we go!'"

1928 - Arbol de la Fraternidad Americana / Pan-American Fraternity Tree, Parque de la Fraternidad Americana Havana (Cuba). "This historical & political tree was planted in 1928, during the VI Pan American Conference held at Havana [January 16 - February 20, 1928]. It is a ceiba-tree, & earth was sent by every American Country to plant this tree which must grow with the good will of Latin & Saxon Americas towards Peace & Progress in a friend-ship way." /// "As a remembrance of the VI Pan-American Conference, the Fraternity Tree was planted in this square, which has taken this name. Secretary of P.W., Mr. Cespedes, has made great success in planning this handsome square on Parisian lines built in the tropics, with tropical gardens and plants and colonial details. Havana is continually beautifying herself; this is only the start. Sooner or later Havana will be the prettiest city of all of the Americas. Come again!" 1 of 40 monuments in "Peace Symbols" by Zonia Baber (1948), pp. 36-37. Images are postcards from 1941 & 1947.

W A L K

1929 - Walk of Fame, 1000 Holt Avenue, Rollins College, Winter Park, Florida (USA). "Consists of over 500 separate stones arranged in a large semicircle around Mills Lawn in the heart of the campus. Each stone bears the name of a historical figure deserving of recognition in his or her field. Those represented include artists, philosophers, writers, inventors, scientists & other influential thinkers from the past & present." "President Holt donated 22 stones from his family home in Connecticut. Those stones were the foundation for the Walk of Fame, 'conceived as a permanent memorial to the great men & women in history, past & present.' The original walk ran between Carnegie & Knowles Halls. The headstone that now introduces the Walk of Fame is a 200-year-old mill stone from Holt’s Woodstock home. All students & faculty were invited to contribute stones to the Walk, although President Holt admitted some had to be rejected because they weren’t sufficiently 'famous.'" Click here for an incomplete list of names on the walk (currently 526).

S T O N E

1934 - Walk of Fame, Rollins College, Winter Park, Florida (USA). "Probably the most problematic stone Holt ever obtained [for the Walk of Fame] was that of the Dionne Quintuplets [born May 28, 1934]. The President’s initial request for a stone was rejected because the guardians of the quints had been swamped with similar requests from mothers who believed such stones could enhance fertility. Prexy replied that he really didn’t think Rollins fell in the same category as 'superstitious mothers,' and the guardians responded that Rollins was welcome to a stone - anytime someone wanted to come to Canada and get it. Hamilton Holt & Rollins got the stone."

1936 or 1939 - American Legion Peace Gardens, Cleveland Cultural Gardens, Rockefeller Park, Cleveland, Ohio (USA). Created by the American Legion after World War I. Inscription: "Here may the intermingled soil from historic shrines of the nations of the world...symbolize the united effort of their peoples as they advance to a better understanding. These gardens, planned by men who know the horrors of war, are dedicated to the brotherhood of men and peace throughout the world." (Rockefeller Park opened in 1897, & the first of more than two dozen "Cultural Gardens" opened in 1916 or 1926.) /// See "The Peace Path of the Cleveland Cultural Gardens: Making Place for Cultures of Peace" by Berbrier, Mitch (July 2012).

1940 - Peace Tower, Heiwadai Koen / Park, 6146 Koshigasako, Shimokitakatamachi, Miyazaki-shi, Miyazaki, Kyushu Island (Japan). 37-meter tower erected to promote "the unification of the eight corners of the world under one roof" (hakko ichiu) & celebrate 2,600th anniversary of the mythological foundation of Japan. "Purportedly contains artifacts that once belonged to the first emperor. Pedestal made with stones donated by Japanese expatriates from all over the world. Copper door created with coins donated by Japanese children. It may seem ironic that a peace tower was erected at a time when Japan was busy colonizing much of Asia; [but] the intention was to show that the world could live peaceably, albeit with Japan as leader. Figures on the tower depict the guardians of fishery, agriculture, self-defense, and commerce." Ten Yen note shows Imperial crisantemum (no longer used after WW-II).

About 1938 - Fireplace of States, Fireplace of States & Tourist Info Center, 300 Bemidji Avenue, Bemidji, Minnesota (USA). "A rock from every state!"

1943 - Monument of States, 300 East Monument Avenue, Kississimi, Florida (USA). "Begun in 1942 after the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, the Monument of States was the vision of Dr. Charles Bressler-Pettis, a local tourism booster, who wanted a physical symbol of American unity in the dark days of early World War II. He wrote letters to every governor and to President Franklin D. Roosevelt to send him local rocks. (No clue where the President got his rock.) The donations arrived in a variety of formats -- blocks of native granite, chunks of quartz, small boulders, fossils, hunks of old buildings. One contributor even sent a human skull. By 1943 the Doctor had a complete set [of rocks] from the then-lower-48 [states], and had them mortared into a 50-foot-tall pseudo-pyramid of garishly-colored concrete slabs that weighed 30 tons. Each slab had a rock embedded in it, and was inscribed with the donor's name and location: 'Idaho, Chase A. Clark Gov. 1941-42,' 'Lottie Lawler,' 'Wisconsin Dairy Land,' 'Harvard Medical School.'"

September 1, 1953 - Peace Park, Ankara (Turkey). "Surrounds Anitkabir (literally, "memorial tomb"), the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk [1881-1938], the leader of the Turkish War of Independence & the founder & first president of the Republic of Turkey. Called a Peace Park in honor of Ataturk's famous expression "Peace at home, peace in the world." It contains around 50,000 decorative trees, flowers & shrubs in 104 varieties, donated from around 25 countries." /// "Several trees & saplings were taken from Afghanistan, USA, Germany, Austria, Belgium, China, Denmark, Finland, France, India, Iraq, England, Spain, Israel, Italy, Japan, Canada, Cyprus, Egypt, Norway, Portugal, Yugoslavia & Greece. Today, the Peace Park contains approximately 48,500 trees & plants, from 104 different species."

1976 - Flagpole with Rocks from Each State, Granada, Colorado (USA). "Flagpole base marked 1976 contains rocks from every state in the union, some cryptically marked. Get all of your roadside geology in one place!" NB: Granada is the site of the Amache Japanese Relocation Center from World War II (qv).

G A R D E N

1981 - Temple of Tolerance, 203 South Wood Street, Wapakoneta, Ohio (USA). "I've seen many amazing visionary art sites, but none quite like the one James R. (Jim) Bowsher has created. His home is an incredible museum -- a Grand Central Terminal for the Underground Railroad, an invisible library of unwritten books on Freemasons, Harry Houdini & and Neil Armstrong. Over several backyards are massive glacial boulders forming the central monument dedicated to tolerance, a stage for summer music performances, a Vietnam War memorial, and a Tree of Life. Throughout the grounds you'll also find the archeology of good and evil -- Boundary markers from a Shawnee Indian reservation, slab steps from a Klan meetinghouse, stone dragons from Ireland, fragments from the first baseball park in Cincinnati, even a marble countertop from a bank that John Dillinger robbed. Perhaps more than anything, the Temple stands to remind us, as well as future generations, to have compassion for others as we continue to explore our dreams, follow our spirit, and search for answers in the hope of scaling new heights." [Cathy J. Schreima, Wapakoneta Evening Ledger, April 7, 2001.] /// Bowsher's temple is further described & illustrated on NarrowLarry's World of the Outstanding & RareVisions Road Trip.com. For YouTube videos of the temple, click here for 11 minutes on a sunny day, and click here for 5 minutes in the snow. Also click to see Bowsher explaining why he believes in innate goodness and telling the story of rivets.

B E L L S

1989? - Kambanite / Bells ("Banner of Peace" Monument), Sofia (Bulgaria). Contains bells from all over the world. Dedicated to the well being and happiness of children everywhere. "The international 'Banner of Peace' movement dates back to 1979, when the First Children’s Assembly 'Banner of Peace' was held in Sofia in dedication to the International Year of the Child (IYC). By 1989, four assemblies and four meetings of children from all over the world have been held in Sofia. Altogether, 3,900 kids from 138 countries and 14,000 children from Bulgaria have taken part. The movement’s motto is 'Unity, Creativity, Beauty,' while its basic principle is 'Anyone can be a creator in the Peace Assembly.'" See Nicholas Roerich [1874-1947].

P A V I L I O N

June 1995 - World Peace Pavilion, Ferry Terminal Park, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia (Canada). Symbol of unity & solidarity amongst the people of the world. Site of G7 Summit in June 1995, & officially opened by the seven visiting foreign ministers. The triangular shaped structure displays an international collection of rocks & artifacts contributed by 80 countries in every corner of the globe. Entry #1271 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).

W A L L

January 1, 2000 - Stones of Peace Wall, Imjingak Park, Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), Paju (South Korea). Next to the peace bell (qv). "Stones from 86 noteworthy battlefields all over the world, put on display to wish for a peaceful unification of Korea. Barring any nasty surprises, most [South Koreans] believe that unification will follow the German model, with North Korea gradually opening its society up and integrating itself into South Korea. The hard part is the opening up, as the cult of Kim Jong-il is much harder to maintain in an open society."

M U S E U M

2003 - Global Village & Discovery Center, Habitat for Humanity, Americus (161 miles from Atlanta), Georgia (USA). "Learn about the devastating effects of poverty everywhere. See life-size Habitat houses from countries around the world. Experience God’s love at work through Habitat volunteers and partner families across the globe." Habitat has built over 350,000 houses around the world, providing more than 1.75 million people in 3,000 communities with safe, decent, affordable shelter.

P A T H

April 22, 2004 - World Peace Flame Pathway, Peace Palace, The Hague (Netherlands). Contains a rock from each of the 197 nations which signed the world peace agreement [sic]. Is this the same as the "Ambassadors Statement for Peace?"