Copyright © 2012 American Institute of Commemorative Art,
Jed A. Hendrickson, CM, AICA, Executive Director,
3 North Milpas Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93103

Public/Civic Memorials

Placed to commemorate a historic moment in time, the public or civic memorial may be designed to commemorate a battle, war or conflict, or to bring attention to another historic event of our times. Many times a church, or cemetery will desire to erect a feature memorial to bring attention to a religious figure. Both heroes and tragic events have been commemorated with a memorial tribute designed by the members of the AICA.

BLUTO STATUE

The City of Chester is home to Elzie Segar, the creator of the Popeye cartoon. Each year the city erects a statue of one of the characters. The statue of Bluto was carved from a small plastic statue provide by the committee. The base is “V” shaped to set on the corner intersection of two major streets and is engraved with general information on the city officials and contributors to the project.

OUR LADY OF THE ANGEL’S

Our Lady of the Angel’s Shrine commemorates the 50th anniversary of the tragic Our Lady of the Angels School fire in 1958. The shrine lists 95 children and nuns who died in the fire. Cardinal Francis George commissioned the designer to build the shrine at the site of the fire. The tear drop shape reflects the tragedy.

VETERAN'S STAR Memorial  

The focus of this tribute to Veterans is the star in the window; representing what so many mothers sewed and displayed when their sons were at war.  The polished tapered opening takes one’s eye to the star and engraving that honors all those who served.  Our soldiers influence is felt around the world as represented by the elliptical shape of the monolith.  Freedom, our soldier’s mission, is shown by the free flowing water that flows over the oval front edge of the water basin carved into the stone below the window.  The water reservoir and pump located deep below the memorial re-circulate the water flow.

City of Sparta Memorial

The City of Sparta wanted to erect a memorial at the intersection of the two major streets through town. They expressed an interest in an obelisk. A traditional obelisk was engraved on the sides with items that Sparta was known for. The front has a brief history of Sparta, the back is dedicated to the veterans of the community and the sides were etched with historic events and places located in the community.

Grand Meadow Veteran's Memorial

A simple veteran’s memorial for a small town consists of an octagonal bench surrounding a flag pole which sits into the hillside. Expansion lines for the concrete are sawed into the form of a star and a pathway leading to the memorial is lined with granite pavers with the names of veterans.