Fountain Of Eternal Life
History
The fountain was initiated and promoted by the Cleveland Press, which raised $250,000 in donations from private citizens and various organizations for the project. The centerpiece is a 35-foot (11 m) bronze figure representing man escaping from the flames of war and reaching skyward for eternal peace. The bronze sphere from which the figure rises represents Earth. Four granite carvings, representing the "geographic civilizations of the world", are placed around the sphere. Fredericks described his central figure, towering 46 feet (14 m) above the basin, in this way:
This Figure expresses the main theme of the Memorial Fountain, namely, the spirit of mankind rising out of the encircling flames of war, pestilence, and the destructive elements of life, reaching and ascending to a new understanding of life. Man rising above death, reaching upward to his God and toward Peace.
On the surface of the polished granite rim surrounding the fountain are bronze plates bearing the names of 5,552 Greater Clevelanders who have fallen in military service during times of war from 1899 to 2014, a span of 115 years. This includes soldiers from the Spanish–American War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, and the Iraq War. These names are memorialized in the Greater Cleveland Veterans Memorial Honor Roll.
Dedications
At its initial dedication in 1964, there were 4,155 names on the existing Memorial Fountain. These names represented Americans who died during World War II and the Korean War. The memorial underwent a complete restoration during the construction of an underlying parking garage in connection with the neighboring Key Tower, and was rededicated on Veterans Day in 1991. At a 2004 rededication, the GCVM added 1,361 additional names to the Memorial Fountain to include those Greater Clevelanders who died in the Spanish–American War, World War I, the Vietnam War, and the initial six casualties of the Iraq War. This number also included those who perished during World War II and the Korean War for whom new information was found to support their addition to the Memorial Fountain. Another rededication on July 25, 2014 added 42 new memorial names – 33 representing the Iraq War, the remainder from the Vietnam War, the Korean War, and World War II.
See also
References
- ^ "GCVM History and Mission". The Greater Cleveland Veterans Memorial. Accessed August 4, 2014.
- ^ "The GCVM Honor Roll". The Greater Cleveland Veterans Memorial. Accessed August 4, 2014.
- ^ "All About Cleveland!, Memorial Plaza". Archived 2006-09-01 at the Wayback Machine. Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine. Accessed October 9, 2006.
- ^ Albrecht, Brian. "Pride and pain mark re-dedication of Greater Cleveland Veterans Memorial". The Plain Dealer. Cleveland. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
External links
- 1964 establishments in Ohio
- 1964 sculptures
- Bronze sculptures in Ohio
- Buildings and structures in Cleveland
- Outdoor sculptures in Cleveland
- Downtown Cleveland
- Fountains in Ohio
- Monuments and memorials in Ohio
- Nude sculptures in the United States
- Sculptures of men in Ohio
- Statues in Ohio
- Tourist attractions in Cleveland
- Sculptures by Marshall Fredericks
- War monuments and memorials
- Peace monuments and memorials