Flushing Memorial

Flushing Meadows-Corona Park

Situated in the central green of the former town of Flushing, this striking monument by Hermon Atkins MacNeil (1866-1947) honors the 76 local servicemen who lost their lives while serving their country in World War I (1914-1918). The monument is made of Georgia pink marble and includes a central, allegorical, half-length female nude and a ceremonial bench known as an exedra. Commissioned at a cost of $35,000, it was a gift to the City in 1925.

Born in Everett, Massachusetts, Hermon MacNeil studied art in both Rome and Paris. He rose to prominence in this country with his large-scale figurative sculptures, including the McKinley Memorial in Columbus, Ohio. MacNeil’s work also graces the other four boroughs in New York City. From a cast of his Sun Vow in the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn to the Flushing War Memorial in Queens, as well as four busts in the Hall of Fame of Great Americans at Bronx Community College, and contributions to Washington Square Park in Manhattan, MacNeil’s artistic mark is strong throughout the city. Other notable works include the figures on the eastern pediment of the Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C. He also held the honor of being the first American to receive the Prix de Rome for his work, and he designed the heavily collected “Standing Liberty” quarter, minted from 1916 to 1930.

MacNeil maintained a studio in nearby College Point and had a long association with the Poppehusen Institute, serving on its board of directors. The waterfront park in College Point is also named for him, one of only two parks in New York City named for a sculptor. The other is Augustus St. Gaudens Playground on Second Avenue and 20th Street in Manhattan.

Tuesday, Nov 20, 2001