New Britain herald., 1926-09-16
EXPLAINS Choice
OF MEMORIAL SITE
Committee Writes Another Let.
ter to Mayor and Council


experimenting its report to the
common council in which construc-
ton OF a permanent memorial to
World War veterans at the top of
Walnut Hill park is recommended,
the memorial committee today is
sued a statement explaining the fac
tors which determined the choice of
that site and the selection of lime
stone in construction of the memo
rial.
Their statement in reference to
the type and site of the monument,
reads as follows:
"At the early meetings of your
committee, your committee was
unanimously in favor of reproducing
permanently a memorial that should
have the general lines of the pres
cnt temporary memorial, namely.
an arch and individual monuments
for each of the dead soldiers. So
soon however as we invited propo.
ais for such a memorial we found
among all of those who came here
and inspected the site and desired
to compete for the memorial the
unanimous opinion that a memorial
upon the present site was imprac-
teal: and after showing them about
the city they all concurred in rec
ommending that the memorial be
put upon the northern end of the
top of the hill in the park.
THE objections to the site of the
temporary memorial arch as set
forth by Mr.. Magonigle in his letter
Of July 81 represent practically what
was said by all those whose opinions
were asked upon the subject. Mr..
Magoniglc says: This site in my
opinion offers practically insupera-
BILE obstacles TO a successful treat
ment for permanent mem orial
The land slopes in two directions
with the roadway and with the side
hill-in such a manner that an cN-
cecdingly heavy expense would be
li'Noileu ~ " .'aii'e ',lI loO''.,o'
Iot me 9i'e' '.'ci'lo' i,,' az l''"
point especially if it took the form
Of an arch owing to the width of
the roadway would have to be of
'uCii a. ~ ~, &c ~ ,iza 10
'.o'l I'''. 90, Il,,,.,,I onnr,,aus
t ,',it,,t.,,., a,,l, .,,, ao.+ ,,.ovII 1ro1,-
Ky. ~ 800 t1,o, Nnv- britain
49,, w. ,,,.o1,o,,ol - r,,o,d,
~ oon,-orsotion Mr. Nogonio1e
.,,,-,,,a.1 .1,i. o,;r,;o, ana stotod
t,o4 o,,ot, ,,1aooa !, +bo+ nosi-
,ior bo,rnvor STRONGLY made
,,a,,ra na,.o,+l,o1oss lao s,bioc+ 10
tho o,,t,rord ,,r..sr,o of bavoioht
- a. AIN r,,l,;oI, i,,oorconti1,,,, hut
,,,r,I,, ,,.o,,,, ca oboryo ,ba fo,ndo-
tiore Of tho arch that If vouId he
hound =, oroc1,. ard that this tom
do,,o,- 90 al 1orco hodios of Garth
- SLOWLY hotten themselves ont
,ro,,1d an tho eu,,,,or foundations
If tho irdi,.iduol monuments very
coon 4oI-e its afract and nut Them
ont Of limo and tbot il Nrpul1 he
innossihla to maintain either thc
ornb ~ the monuments in that no.
.i+ion for onv considerable length
of 4in,o IN first -cIass condition
"Thc engineering department of
tho civ of Now britain who were
also consulted agreed fulIv with
those ,iovs and vour committees
therefore had no other course than
TO seek for 2 memorial in some
other form than that of the lem
norarv arch and Monuments. Your
COMMITTEES realized fulIv the senti-
mont which had grown about and
was strangely connected with the
individual character of the fem
porarv memorial, and in making
tho mans for nermonont Mono
rial on another site which if was
compclIed to do bv reason of the
facts aforestatod if narticularlv
directed the attention of the arcbi-
tect to sucb form of memorial as
shou1d in striking fashion continue
the individual character of the
nresen+ tcmnorarv memorial.
"Tbn LIST Of architects and en-
eineers who are referred TO in this
report as having visited the yari-
ous nronosed sites for the mcmo-
rial and who concurred in Mr.
lIaronigIo.s oninions are as fol-
lows. Jobn G. Hardy Providence
r. r. Carl Skoog, Cambridge.
Mass sculn;or in collaboration
with + D. LELAND. BOSTON. Mass.
architects ana engineers. Citv of
New britain engineering depart-
mcnt. A. y. Mcmillan. engineer of
tbe Aberthaw Construction COM
many If Boston Mass. Fl. Van
Ruron Mogoniple Now York n.
Y"
Economv and Durability are the
chief reasons aiycn for the Use of
limestone although the element of