What should we consider when memorializing an event or person

and creating a monument?

Background: Why and how do we memorialize?

Why do we memorialize?• To honor moments of

great achievement• To honor people• To remember our past• To unify us in some way

How do we memorialize?• Works of art: poems,

songs, visual art, music• Scrapbooks and other

mementos• Statues• Parks• Restored structures • Museums

Through careful consideration of the monument’s location, size,

material and purpose, a designer may effectively pay homage to

deep sacrifice or honor moments of great achievement.

Location is of utmost importance in the effectiveness of a monument.

A park may provide the perfect setting.

• Such a setting may be particularly meaningful for a person or a group of people.

• Too, the park’s beauty may elevate the meaning of the venue.

• For example, Riverside Park in Easton, PA, was selected as the site of a monument honoring Christopher Columbus (The Christopher Columbus Monument in Riverside Park).

This striking statue amid the beauty of the park prompts us to remember the importance of Columbus to our history.

Location cont

• However, a monument located in an unsightly area would likely not be as effective.

A forgotten Communist monument in Bulgaria (above);a monument to Pushkin on an abandoned building (right).

Location cont

• In another example, the Mall of Washington, D.C. was selected as the site for the Holocaust Museum (Musser).

• Of its location, author Christine Musser notes that many questioned why “a museum of the Holocaust would be built in the United States, who [sic] did little to stop the Holocaust from occurring.”