SOMEDAY a definitive book, or even a webpage, will be written about the hundreds of war memorials that are scattered all over the five boroughs, ranging from tiny to massive. I’m disappointed that there have been no notable Gulf War monuments built, and NYC deserves one of its own.
Tucked away in Astoria Park is its World War I monument, on the park walkway north of the Triborough Bridge and facing Shore Boulevard and the East River. 101 residents of Astoria and Long Island City perished during the war, which took place in Europe between 1914 and 1918. The memorial was commissioned in 1926 by a group called the Long Island City Committee, designed by architecture firm Ruehl and Warren, and the artwork, which seems to have suffered some weathering, was by sculptor Gaetano Cecere, whose other work can be found in the U.S. Capitol, Smithsonian Institute and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Biblical quotation is from John 15:13. The famed Astoria Pool, built a decade after the memorial, is just behind it.
As always, “comment…as you see fit.” I earn a small payment when you click on any ad on the site.
5/30/22
5 comments
What about the Vietnam Veterans plaza on Water Street?
I’ll amend the page.
Doughboy Park in Woodside has an impressive WWI memorial and statue.
There are also WWI Monuments in McGolrick Park, and the Dover Patrol Monument in Cannonball [John Jay] Park near Fort Hamilton. And I do love the Doughboy sculpture that the poster above noted.
David, Cannonball Parks official name is John Paul Jones.