Name/Title
Memorial ParkEntry/Object ID
2020.9.1071Tags
Memorial Park, Jacksonville, Florida, Riverside--Jacksonville--FloridaDescription
Memorial Park and the St. Johns River viewed from the Park Lane Apartments.
In 1918, the Jacksonville Rotary Club started a drive to build a memorial to commemorate those Florida citizens who died in World War I.
In 1919, the City of Jacksonville purchased the land known as the "Robinson property" for $125,000 with the understanding that the memorial would be placed there. At the urging of Mrs. Arthur Cummer (Ninah), the Olmstead Brothers, sons of architect Frederick Law Olmstead, were commissioned to design the park.
The park reflects Olmstead's theories and the Nineteenth Century Romantic style, characterized by a large central open space bordered by an oval promenade. The focal point of the park is the bronze statue that allegorically depicts "the winged figure of youth" rising victoriously above the "mad maelstom of earthly passions."
The statue was unveiled Christmas Day, 1924.
Roy A. Benjamin supervised the construction of the park and revised the original Olmstead design to omit a floating dock which had been planned to allow access to the river behind the statue.Collection
Photographs CollectionLexicon
Nomenclature 4.0
Nomenclature Secondary Object Term
Photograph, Black-and-WhiteNomenclature Primary Object Term
PhotographNomenclature Sub-Class
Graphic DocumentsNomenclature Class
Documentary ObjectsNomenclature Category
Category 08: Communication ObjectsSearch Terms
Parks, Rivers