Civil War Soldiers and Sailors Memorial (1927)
Hermon Atkins MacNeil (1866–1947)
- Logan Square, Benjamin Franklin Parkway and 20th Street (relocated 1954–1955)
- Marble, on granite bases Height 40' (each pylon)
- Initiated by the City of Philadelphia
- Owned by the City of Philadelphia
Even while the nation was engaged in World War I, Philadelphia decided to commemorate the Civil War. The city appropriated funds for a memorial, and Hermon Atkins MacNeil was selected for the commission.
These two pylons, one depicting sailors, the other soldiers, were intended to stand as gates to the "Parkway Gardens." They were moved to accommodate the construction of the Vine Street Expressway, but still mark the entry to the park from the city. One of the inscriptions reads: "In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free."
Adapted from Public Art in Philadelphia by Penny Balkin Bach (Temple University Press, Philadelphia, 1992).
Civil War Soldiers and Sailors Memorial
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Voices heard in the program:
Alan Greenberger is an architect and the Director of the Philadelphia Planning Commission.
Allen C. Guelzo is the Director of the Civil War Era Studies Program at Gettysburg College, Pennsylvania.
Sarah McEneaney is a painter who studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.
Segment Producer: Jonathan Mitchell
Voices heard in the program:
Alan Greenberger is an architect and the Director of the Philadelphia Planning Commission.
Allen C. Guelzo is the Director of the Civil War Era Studies Program at Gettysburg College, Pennsylvania.
Sarah McEneaney is a painter who studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.
Segment Producer: Jonathan Mitchell
