Peace Monuments in Washington, Oregon & Idaho (USA)

Right click image to enlarge.

After 1894 - Grave of Ranald MacDonald [1824-1894], Toroda, Washington (USA). With rocks from Rishiri Island. off the coast of Hokkaido (Japan).

Date? - Monument to Ranald MacDonald, Astoria, Oregon (USA). Japanese language monument at birthplace of Ranald McDonald [1824-1894].

Date? - Monument to Ranald MacDonald, Nagasaki (Japan). Ranald MacDonald was 1st American to willingly go to Japan [in 1848] & 1st first person to teach English there.

Date? - Monument to Ranald MacDonald, Rishiri Island, Hokkaido Prefecture (Japan).

1918 - Stonehenge, Maryhill, Washington (USA). "A full-size replica of Stonehenge (England) built on a bluff overlooking the Columbia River by Sam Hill [1857-1931], a road builder, as a memorial to those who died in World War I. Not completed until 1930. Hill was buried in 1931 at the base of the bluff, but, because he wished to be left alone, there is no easy path to his resting place. The project began when Hill was mistakenly informed that the original Stonehenge had been used as a sacrificial site. He thus constructed his replica as a reminder that 'humanity is still being sacrificed to the god of war.'" Hill also constructed the Peace Arch (qv) on the US/Canadian border.

September 6, 1921 - International Peace Arch, Peace Arch Park, US/Canadian Border, Blaine, Washington (USA), & Douglas, British Columbia (Canada). Commemorates the centennial of the Treaty of Ghent which ended the War of 1812 between the US & Great Britain. Click here for the Wikipedia article. Entry #1211 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).

Date? - Peace Arch, Peace Arch Park, US/Canadian border. What is this? Added to the park after 2000?

1949 - George Fox University, 414 North Meridian Street,| Newberg, Oregon (USA). Founded in 1891 by Quaker pioneers. Named George Fox College in 1949. Merged with Western Evangelical Seminary & renamed George Fox Univesity in 1996.

1962 - Kobe Bell, near Intiman Playhouse, Seattle Center (former world's fair grounds), Seattle, Washington, USA. Gift from sister city Kobe (Japan) to the City of Seattle at time of the Seattle World's Fair (also know as the Century 21 Exposition).

1963 - Broken Obelisk, Central Plaza (Red Square), near Suzallo Library, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington (USA). One of four identical monuments by Barnett Newman [1905-1970]. Each is 6,000 pounds of Corten steel more than 25 feet high -- a pyramid topped by a reversed obelisk ascending yet torn, or 'broken,' at its top, obviously some kind of symbolic object roughly resembling traditional monuments of combined pyramid and obelisk. Newman himself described the sculpture in terms conventional to his art: 'It is concerned with life, and I hope I have transformed its tragic content into a glimpse of the sublime.'" See identical monuments in Berlin, Houston & New York City.

1971 - Peace Candle of the World, Scappoose, Oregon (USA). "Also known as the Scappoose Peace Candle. A tower-like structure designed to resemble a candle. Approximately 50-foot (15 m) tall, 18-foot (5.5 m) structure. Built in 1971 outside of what was then the Brock Candles Inc. factory, which burned down in 1990. The land used to be a dairy farm, and factory owner Darrel Brock created the candle by covering a silo with red wax to advertise the factory."

1985 - "SunSweep," Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts, Washington (USA). In US but accessible by road only from Canada. Three monuments spanning 2,778 miles of the international border. Click here for website of sculptor David Barr. Entry #1049 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).

1988 - Peace Plaza, Between City Hall & City Library, Salem, Oregon (USA). Click here for annual tree photos. /// Created by Polly Hare [1917-2009] from North Manchester, Indiana. Entry #848 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).

September 12, 1988 - Seattle Peace Park, Tashkent (Uzbekistan). "Covers a territory of 1.5 acres. The Seattle-Tashkent Sister City Association along with Peace Corps Volunteers created the park, decorating it with a fountain, a mosaic map of the world [in image], a striking sculpture by a Seattle-based artist, many decorative and unique tiles designed by Seattle citizens, and planting the trees that have grown over the years and now shade half of the park." Simultaneously dedicated at Seattle Center. Photo courtesy of Anatoly Ionesov 11/08.

February 1990 - Sapporo Bell, Oregon Convention Center, Portland, Oregon, (USA). Gift from City of Sapporo, Hokkaido (Japan), to the City of Portland "in commoration of 30 years of sisterhood." Cast by Sotetsu Iwasawa, Iwasawa no Bonsho Co., Ltd., Kyoto (Japan). Rung electronically with bell from sister city Ulsan (South Korea) in sequence written by Robert Coburn.

About 1990 - Friendship Bell, Washington State Convention & Trade Center, Seattle, Washington (USA). Gift from Yosoji Kobayashi, President of Nippon Television Network Corp. (NHK) and the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper chain (which buys newsprint from the State of Wshington).

August 3, 1990 - Japanese American Historical Plaza & Bill of Rights Memorial, Gov. Tom McCall Waterfront Park, 2 Northwest Naito Parkway, Portland, Oregon (USA). "A unique and beautiful sculpture garden. Dotted with cherry trees, the plaza serves as a memorial to the Japanese Americans who were detained in concentration camps during WWII." "Dedicated to the memory of those who were deported to inland internment camps during World War II. In the memorial garden, artwork tells the story of the Japanese people in the Northwest - of immigration, elderly immigrants, native-born Japanese Americans, soldiers who fought in US military services during the war, and the business people who worked hard and had hope for the children of the future. A sculpture by Jim Gion, Songs of Innocence, Songs of Experience, also graces the plaza."

August 6, 1990 - Sadako Peace Park, 40th Street & Roosevelt Way, NE, Seattle, Washington (USA). Initiative of conscientious objector Floyd W. Schmoe [1895-2001] who rebuilt homes in Hiroshima (Japan) & won the Hiroshima Peace Prize in 1998. Inscription: "Sadako Sasaki, Peace Child. She gave us the paper crane to symbolize our yearning for peace in the world. A gift to the people of Seattle from Fratelli's Ice Cream. Daryl Smith - Sculptor. 1990." Vandalized in December 2005 but repaired. Upper image shows Schmoe & peace cranes. Lower image shows hibakusha Ken Nakano of Kirkland, WA. Entry #1063 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).

August 1949-1952 - "Houses for Hiroshima," at the foot of Ebasara-yama Hill, Eba-machi, Hiroshima (Japan). "Forestry scholar Floyd Schmoe [1895-2001] came up with a plan to build houses for people in Hiroshima. Friends Pacific Yearly Meeting and the Japan Friends Years Meeting [sic] cooperated to raise funds. Money eventually came from Canada, France, China and other countries around the world... Houses were built every year from 1950 to 1952. In addition. a community center was constructed in 1951." Upper image shows Schmoe and Mayor Shinzo Hamai [1905-1968] looking at a stone lantern in the garden. "The lantern inscribed "That There May Be Peace" in both English and Japanese, symbolizing the philosophy of Schmoe."

1991 - Japanese Stone Lanterns, on bank of Snake River, Idaho Falls, Idaho (USA), home of the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The two lanterns are a gift from sister city Tokai-mura (Japan), home of the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI).

November 16, 1991 - Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial, Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Park, Martin Luther King, Jr., Way (between South Walker & South Bayview Streets), Seattle, Washington (USA). A 4.5 acre park surrounding a dramatic 30-foot black granite 'mountain'scupted by Robert Kelly and inspired by MLK's 'I've Been to the Mountaintop' speech, made the day before he was assassinated in 1968.

Date? - Community Peace Tree, Unitarian Universalist Church of Idaho Falls (UUCIF), Idaho Falls, Idaho (USA).

1993? - Pacific Crest Trail Monuments, on US/Canadian Border (Washington & British Columbia) & on US/Mexican border. Identical wooden monuments 2,650 miles apart at each end of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT).

1994 - "Urban Peace Circle," Sam Smith Park, Seatle, Washington (USA). By Seattle sculptor Gerard Tsutakawa. Dedicated to children killed by gun violence in Seattle’s inner city.

1996 - Peace Garden, Seattle Center, Seattle, Washington (USA). "A quiet place of contemplation. Included in the site, just west of the Space Needle Turnaround, is a Peace Pole (one of hundreds located around the world by the Goi Peace Foundation of Tokyo, Japan); The Conflict Resolution Table, designed by the teenagers of the Seattle Center Peace Academy; the Aki Kurose rock (honoring Aki Kurose [1925-1998], a Japanese American educator and peace activist, in 2002) & the Middle East Peace sculpture installed in 2003. The garden was created by Seattle Center staff with a varied combination of materials including the cobblestones from the original International Fountain."

May 30, 1998 - "The Fin Project: From Swords Into Plowshares," Magnuson Park, Sand Point, Seattle, Washington (USA). 22 submarine fins. Two monuments in different cities (Seattle & Miami, Florida) made from the surplus fins of nuclear attack submarines by sculptor John T. Young. Entry #1053 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).

October 15, 1998 - Volontarios Internacionales de la Liberdad (Memorial to Abraham Lincoln Brigage), University of Washington, Seattle, Washington (USA). Dedicated to the veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade (1936-1939). It reads: "11 students from the University of Washington joined that historic struggle." Other ALB memorials in Madison, WI, & San Francisco, CA (qv).

About 1999 - Four Peace Poles, Education Building, East Shore Unitarian Universalist Church, Bellevue, Washington (USA). Four peace poles support the portico of the church's Religious Education (RE) building. Information courtesy of Wenda Collins 06Feb11.

Date? - Cambodian Cultural Museum & Killing Fields Memorial, 9809-16th Avenue SW, White Center, Seattle, Washington (USA). Founded by Dara Duong, a survivor of the 1975-79 killing fields. Connected to the Wing Luke Asian Museum (WLAM)? One of 27 US museums in "Museums for Peace Worldwide" edited by Kazuyo Yamane (2008).

2001 - Minidoka Internment National Historic Site, National Park Service (NPS), Hagerman, Idaho (USA). Click here for the 2006 General Management Plan.

2002 - Gospodor Monument Park, Camus Road, Toledo-Winlock (near Olympia), Washington (USA). "Four towering memorials commemorating Jesus, Chief Seattle, Mother Teresa, and the Holocaust with statues or symbols atop 100-foot-plus steel-pipe towers. Visible for miles, especially at night. Dominic Gospodor had planned five more monuments: Two large ones to honor African-American history and the 17,000 people killed each year by drunken driving. Three statues to commemorate Jonas Salk, Susan B. Anthony, and William Seward. He said his monument project has so far cost him about $500,000. Gospodor is horrified by the Holocaust. Raised Catholic, he is especially concerned about the church's inaction during World War II: "They all remained silent. Everybody remained silent."

M E M

2002 - Idaho Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial, Boise, Idaho (USA). Along the Boise Greenbelt near the Black History Museum, Boise Art Gallery, Idaho History Museum, MK Nature Center & Log Cabin Literary Center."This world-class educational park, which has been profiled in several national publications including the National Geographic book 'Etched in Stone: Enduring Words from Our Nation's Monuments,' is the only Anne Frank memorial in the USA & one of the only places in the world where the full Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is on public display. The Memorial includes a life-sized bronze statue of Anne Frank & over 60 quotes from the world's humanitarian leaders. /// Kurt Karst, an Idaho Falls architect, designed the Memorial to integrate the beauty of natural elements-like water, stone & native plants-with the message of hope in humanity." "Gregory Stone of Northampton, Massachusetts, designed a bronze statue to honor Anne Frank."

October 23, 2003 - Middle East Peace Sculpture, Peace Park, Seattle Center, Seattle, Washington (USA). "A graceful twist of Italian marble about 30 x 8 inches standing atop a natural column of black basalt, approximately 62 x 14 inches. Depicts two rectangular leaves, very much alike yet different in texture. They are intertwining and reaching toward the sky--interdependent. Peace is engraved in Arabic, English & Hebrew along with the names of Arabic & Jewish participating children." Sculpted by Iraqi Sabah Al-Dhaher. "Intiated, designed & directed by Palestinian-American Amineh Ayyad... The children of the Arab Center of Washington, the Middle East Peace Camp, Kadima, & the Iraqi Community Center worked together to create this sculpture." Dedicated on Children's Peace Day..

May 31, 2006 - Portland Peace Memorial Park, just south of Steele Bridge, Portland, Oregon (USA). Surrounded by expressways. Dedicated on Memorial Day. "Orchestrated by the Oregon chapter of Veterans for Peace. ...thought to be the largest memorial to the idea of peace in America [sic!]." Or called Portland Memorial Peace Park?

August 27, 2007 - "In Unity We Soar," Blaine High School, Blaine, Washington (USA). Moved permanently to the high school after temporary exposition at the Peace Arch.

F E N C E

Mother's Day 2007-June 2008 - "Peace Fence," Ashland, Oregon (USA). Jean Bakewell's idea to transform an unsightly chain link fence that runs along railroad tracks. The panels express each contributor's vision about the human spirit and hopes for peace. There are intricate quilts and beautifully sewn works, oil paintings on canvas, collages, batik and tie-died works, hand painted signs and statements... In the summer of 2008, the entire Peace Fence was destroyed by vandals. But the Peace Fence is neither gone nor forgotten." See the Peace Wall.

W A L L

September 21, 2010 - "Peace Wall," Ashand Public Library, Ashland Oregon (USA). Successor to the vandalized Peace Fence (qv). "Artist Kay Cutter is transferring photographic images of every Peace Fence panel (over 200 of them) onto ceramic tiles."

T R A I L

July 19, 2009 - Amanda's Trail, Yachats, Oregon (USA). "A tribute to the Native Americans of the central Oregon coast & the tragedy that befell them as they were ripped from their native land to make room for white settlers... The story...began in 1864 when the US Cavalry rounded up the coastal Coos & Lower Umpqua tribes, forcibly & inhumanely driving them to walk the rugged route over sharp rocks & blackberry brambles to the designated reservation at the Alsea sub-agency, a dumping ground for coastal Indian tribes..." /// Site of the Amanda statue since 2003 (middle image) by local artist Sy Meadow & the "Yachats New Year's Day Peace Hike" since 2011. Information courtesy of Kathy French.

M U R A L

May 8, 2010 - Olympia-Rafah Solidarity Mural, 119-1/2 Capitol Way North, Olympia, Washington (USA). By mural artist Susan Greene. The Olympia-Rafah Soldarity Mural Project (ORSMP) "furthers Rachel Corrie's dream of building a sister city relationship between Rafah, Gaza Strip (Palestine), where she was killed in 2003, and Olympia, Washington, USA, where she grew up and attended The Evergreen State College." See video.

M U R A L

August 13, 2011 "River of Peace," Salem Family YMCA, 685 Court Street NE, Salem, Oregon (USA). "Mosaic on YMCA housing structure" near Oregon State Capitol. "A participatory mosaic which involved over 600 people creating a 60' long mosaic with porcelain, glass & stone tile. Workshops were held involving participants from age 3 to 85 in making art & writing poetry to express that Salem means Peace... A poem was written for the Salem Peace Mosaic by Oregon Poet Laureate Paulann Petersen. The poem 'Capital' was created in ceramic tile and runs along the 40' glass mosaic river." "KMUZ volunteer DJ Lee Coynea...spearheads the Salem Peace Mosaic with the Salem YMCA, possibly the only mural on the West Coast actually designed by kids." Information courtesy of Michael Romy, Bloomington, IN.

October 8, 2011 - Victory Stupa, Earth Sanctuary, 5536 Emil Road, Langley, Whidbey Island, Washington (USA). "A blessing ceremony for a new Buddhist stupa monument and Tibetan prayer wheels is planned today in Langley. A stupa is the most important Buddhist monument designed to bring peace & harmony to a community. The blessing will be led by His Holiness Jigdal Dagchen Sakya, the Head Lama of Sakya Monastery of Tibetan Buddhism in Seattle. Earth Sanctuary features megalithic monuments & sacred spaces designed for meditation & prayer. It's open to visitors during daylight hours year around. Admission is $7."

P A R K

April 27, 2013 - Nobel Peace Park, Alton Baker Park (at the base of the DeFazio Footbridge & near the Ferry Street Bridge), Eugene, Oregon (USA). "Will consist of a Peace Path and an information kiosk at the entrance to the path. A stone wall will border the winding path and plaques on pillars alongside the path will acknowledge each American winner of the Nobel Peace Prize." /// "The first [peace park] in the nation to focus on the inspirational deeds of the nation's internationally recognized peacemakers."-- John Attig, President, Nobel Peace Laureate Project, February 5, 2012. /// "The park will have plaques honoring the 24 Americans who have won the peace award since the Nobel Prize was first awarded in 1901. Linus Pauling [1901-1994], a native Oregonian, won the peace prize in 1962, while President Barack Obama was the most recent US winner in 2009."

Future - Linus Pauling Institute, Linus Pauling Science Center, Oregon State University (OSU), Corvallis, Oregon (USA). Linus Carl Pauling [1901-1994] is the only person to win two unshared Nobel Prizes - 1954 Nobel Chemistry & 1962 for Peace.

Future - WAshington Nuclear Discovery Center (WAND), Washington Nuclear Museum & Education Center (WANMEC), Nuclear Reactor Building (More Hall Annex, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington (USA). Will present "the full story of Washington's involvement in nuclear research, weaponry & power over the last 60 years." WANMEC is "made possible" by the Washington chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR). Building housed a 100-kilowatt Argonaut research reactor from April 1961 to June 1988 (one of about 10 built for research universities in the USA).