Peace Monuments Which Have Been Moved or Destroyed
Bells are sometimes moved from one "permanent" location to another for various reasons. Click here to see many bells, some of which have been moved.
Right click image to enlarge.
1820 - Temple de l'amité et de la paix / Temple of Friendship & Peace, United Nations, Geneva (Switzerland). Built by Count Jean-Jaques de Sellon [1782-1839] on his estate La Fenêtre (which now belongs to the United Nations). Destroyed during a storm in 1946, but its stones remain in storage (as shown in lower image).
1890 - "A Signal of Peace," Chicago, Illinois (USA). "Represents a Sioux Chief on horseback, his right hand holding a spear pointed upward in a gesture of peace." A gift of art patron Judge Lambert Tree [1832-1910]. Sculpted in France by Cyrus E. Dallin [1861-1944] and exhibited at the World's Columbian Exposition (World's Fair) in 1893.
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1915 - "Peace," near Lake Merced, San Francisco, California (USA). By Benny Bufano [1898-1970]. Won first prize ($500) in the "Immigrant in America" contest...over 100 other submissions. Theodore Roosevelt singled out Bufano for praise and asked to meet him... Bufano chopped off his trigger finger and sent it to President Woodrow Wilson at the onset of World War I as a protest against the war." "Graced the entrance of San Francisco International Airport (SFO) for nearly four decades, is now located near Lake Merced."
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E1919 - Equestrian Statue of Edward VII, Edward Park, Delhi (India). Originally installed in Delhi (India) in 1919, but moved to Toronto, Ontario (Canada), in 1969. (Photo taken in Toronto.)
May 24, 1969 - Equestrian Statue of Edward VII, Queen's Park, Toronto, Ontario (Canada). Part of inscription on plaque: "Originally standing in Edward Park, Delhi, India, this statue was erected on the present site through the generous subscriptions of the citizens of this area..."
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E1922 - Civic Virtue Triumphant Over Unrighteousness," New York City Hall, New York City, New Youk (USA). "...is the official name of the 22-ton marble statue by sculptor Frederick MacMonnies, but it has been derisively called many other things, including “Fat Boy.” The statue was, at one time, one of the biggest news stories in New York City. Even before it was unveiled in 1922 outside New York City Hall, it had offended many women, and many women’s groups. It can now be seen in all its crumbling glory, encrusted with the patina of soot, pigeon droppings, and neglect, outside Queens Borough Hall in New York, where it has stood since it was exiled in 1941.
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1925 - Anti-Kriegs-Museum (AKM) / Anti-War Museum on Parochialstrasse, Berlin. Opened by anarchist & pacifist Ernst Friedrich [1894-1967], whose 1924 picture book "Krieg dem Kriege! / War against War!" documented the horrors of WW-I (upper left image). Friedrich also owned the pleasure boat "Pax Vobiscum" on the River Spree. In March 1933, Nazi storm troopers (SA) destroyed the AKM and seized the "Pax Vobiscum." Friedrich was arrested, then emigrated to Belgium & France. In 1982 (15 years after the death of its founder), AKM was reopened by his grandson Tommy Spree (sic); its current address is Brusseler Strasse 21, Berlin. Lower image of "Pax Vobiscum" courtesy of Peter Nias who photographed it from Friedrich's 1935 book, "Von Friedens - Museum zum Hitler - Kaserne / From Peace Museum to Hitler Barracks" (upper right image).
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TNovember 11, 1927 - Peace Monument, Battlefield Drive & Granny White Pike, Nashville, Tennessee (USA). Angel of Peace at top. Lower group depicts a youth (the united nation) reigning in two powerful horses (North & South) under a rainbow of peace. Designed by Italian Giuseppe Moretti [1857-1935] most famous for Vulcan in Birmingham, Alabama (1904). Originally dedicated on Armistice Day 1927. Rededicated in 1999 after being moved from original base which was encroached by a modern expressway. The 1927 & 1999 bases are identical with the same three inscriptions: Text #1: "The spirit of youth holds in check the contending forces that struggled here in the fierce Battle of Nashville, December 16th, 1864, sealing forever the bond of union by the blood of our heroic dead of the World War 1917-1918." Text #2 from Ralph Waldo Emerson [1803-1882]: "A monument like this, standing on such memories, having no reference to utilities, becomes a sentiment, a poet, a prophet, an orator, to every passerby." Text #3 is a poem by state librarian John Trotwood Moore [1858-1929]. Entry #934 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).
VJ Day, 1945 - Fort William-Dudley Memorial & Peace Cairn, Summit of Ben Nevis, near Fort William, Scotland (UK). "At 1,344 metres (4,409 ft) above sea level, Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in the British Isles. It attracts an estimated 100,000 ascents a year. The summit features the ruins of an observatory, which was permanently staffed between 1883 & 1904." /// "Immediately prior to the John Muir Trust's purchasing Ben Nevis [in 2000], the Peace cairn was relocated & restored by the Peace Cairn Trust. JMT recognises its symbolic value & its place in universal aspirations for world peace; however it is also a focal point attracting further unwanted plaques & memorials. Ideally the JMT believes that a more appropriate site for this structure would be in Glen Nevis, a location that would be accessible to everyone."" See Peace Cairn in Hiroshima (Japan).
1956 - Sarcophagus of Woodrow Wilson, Washington National Cathedral, Cleveland Park, Massachusetts & Wisconsin Avenues, NW, Washington, DC (USA). "Woodrow Wilson [1856-1924] was the 28th President of the US and winner of the 1919 Nobel Peace Prize. Only president buried in DC proper. Originally buried in the Bethlehem Chapel in the crypt of Washington National Cathedral. In 1956, celebrating the centennial of his birth, the Cathedral arranged for his removal to this sarcophagus in the south aisle of the nave proper. It is decorated with symbols of Princeton University (of which he was president), the state of New Jersey (of which he was governor), and the Seal of the USA. Windows of the Wilson Bay depict war and peace, commemorating his service as president during WW-I, as does the sword on the top of the sarcophagus."
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May 1974 "Keeper of the Plains," Wichita, Kansas (USA). City of Wichita Public Art webpage says, "Standing on the confluence of the Big and Little Arkansas Rivers, this 44-foot steel sculpture of an Indian warrior was created by Indian artist Blackbear Bosin of Wichita. Construction of the sculpture was by Tom Washburn, Architectural Metal Products, Inc. The sculpture, erected in May 1974, was completely cut, welded and assembled in the shop and moved in one piece to the location." Mark Hatlie says, "What that site doesn't tell you, is that at the former location, the 'Keeper' faced looking out over the river. Now he faces down town. Has he gone from fisher to a shopper?"
May 30-June 4, 1989 - "Goddess of Democracy," Tinanamen Square, Beijing (China). "During the Tiananmen Square protest of 1989, Chinese student demonstrators in Beijing built a 10 m image called the Goddess of Democracy, which sculptor Tsao Tsing-yuan said was intentionally dissimilar to the Statue of Liberty to avoid being 'too openly pro-American.'" "Constructed in only four days out of foam & papier-mâché over a metal armature. The constructors decided to make the statue as large as possible so the government would be unable to dismantle it. The government would either have to destroy the statue - an action which would potentially fuel further criticism of its policies - or leave it standing... The toppling of the Goddess was seen by millions across the world on television: 'Pushed by a tank, it fell forward & to the right, so that its hands & the torch struck the ground first, breaking off.' As the statue fell, protestors shouted 'Down with Fascism!' & 'Bandits! Bandits!' It was 'quickly and easily reduced to rubble, mixing with all the other rubble in the Square. To be cleared away by the Army.'"
Before 2007 - Statue of Corbett Bishop, Dissenters’ Park, 2635 North Venice Avenue, Tucson, Pima County, Arizona (USA). Depicted resting on a bench in his prison cell. "Religious conscientious objector Corbett Bishop [1906-1961] was arrested after walking out of a Civilian Public Service Camp. During subsequent trials & imprisonments, he refused any type of cooperation with the government until he was released 193 days later. 'I’m not going to cooperate in any way, shape or form. I was carried in here. If you hold me, you’ll have to carry me out. War is wrong. I don’t want any part of it.' /// Dissenter’s Park was a sculpture park located in downtown Tucson. Created by Tony Hinkens and Joseph Lupiani, the park featured sculptures of four figures — Mohandas K. Gandhi, the Civil War abolitionist John Brown, women’s right activist Emma Goldman & conscientious objector Corbitt Bishop. The park was dismantled in 2007 following a change in ownership of the land it occupied. Sign said, "These individuals couraegeously exercise their right to dissent. As you rest here may their strength empower you."
