Show AO V 0 U mb ae 14 WS 19 4 N I 1 by ELMO SCOTT WATSON A DAY this year finds a do long discussed memorial to tho the great navigator nearer reality than ever before tor for an international lury jury of architects has announced its selection of the prize winning design for the monumental lighthouse which is to stand facing tho the harbor of the city of santo domingo in the republic of santo 4 domingo in the west indies the prize winning design a lighthouse in the form of a cross Is the work of an english architect twenty tour four year old J L greave of nottingham ting ham and when the lighthouse la Is completed it will be unique among memorial structures throughout the world and certainly it will be ba the kind of memorial which columbus himself would have most desired this great beacon which shall safely guide the sailors of both the sea and the air who follow him to his last resting place in santo domingo the prize design according to frank lloyd wright the chicago architect and a member of the international jury not only reflects a monument of distinguished and impressive simplicity but it presents a memorial form with a purpose pose anything in the nature of a monument said mr wright Is today somewhat old fashioned in thought this happ happens eias to be more a memorial than a monument in that it serves a useful purpose through its radiated lighting the columbus cross will serve as both a good air beacon and a good lighthouse As a navigators and aviators beacon it has unlike many other monuments some reason for existence the historic spot chosen for the memorial on I 1 santo domingo harbor not far from the ruins of what was once the palace of columbus brother bartholomew tholo mew Is an appropriate site for this enduring symbol fymbo or of friendship between north and south america from its harbor side the lighthouse will be reached by a flight of broad low steps according to the design the main entrance carries into a building which as described by str mr wright becomes a series of high cool canyons the walls bearing sculptured motifs standing in the center of the largest canyon are six small altars from these altars light la Is radiated upward through clefts in the mass of the structure in the pattern of a cross it Is this lighting system that forms the air beacon the revolving navigators beacon a horizontal beam will be mounted at the center and highest part of the cross in its memorial chapel there will be a tomb where the bon bones of Coluni columbus trus which same come students believe to be in the cathedral of santo domingo will be laid while the harbor portal may be called the main entrance there are two others almost as impressive they also form part of the r setback design of the pyramidal pattern there is a fourth portal at the diminishing point of t the he cross affording a view of santo domingos aviation field A vr aitor rhay enter at the harbor side and after traversing the several canyons leave by a rear door A terrace on top of the structure also open to visitors commands a fine view or of the harbor and city the altars which stand free and dear clear down the center of the be major canyon will tell through bas the story of columbus and his journey ot of discovery to a strange land that there Is no idea of a height in the memorial structure mr wright considers an impressive press lve feature of the design hero here Is something finer in the idea said mr wright something a little more natural a little more organic a little more a part of the historic plot it Is to commemorate the simple thing when yon want to mark a spot Is to drive in a posts post and in the case of most present day monuments and skyscrapers the hl higher ber the post the better thi this s memorial Is more like making a symbol in ahls instance a cross on the ground and giving it architectural character that will endure for centuries it Is earthquake proof in time the jungle may grow over it it may disappear from sight it may be rediscovered but it will still bi be a worthy symbol suitably commemorating a great discovery more has already been contributed by this country for the monument which will cost in the of santo domingo and several south american cities Otle have shave appropriated several hundred thousand dollars bollara for the project which Is in charge of a committee of the pan american union so after more than half a century of persevering effort during which the idea of building a fitt fitting ling memorial to the man who to Is universally sally hailed as tho the discoverer of america was kept alive by a few enthusiastic latin americans the dream is 13 nearer reality than ever before in this four hundred and fortieth year since columbus columbua made hla his first epochal voyage the honor of first suggesting Ung the erection of a great memorial lighthouse to the eternal glory of columbus belongs to a son eon of santo domingo whose people have for many generations despite their small numbers and limited means done so BO much to honor the name of the great anarig navigator tor don antonio de monte y tejada of santo domingo dominco the spot columbus bowl above 3 f ar 1 christopher columbus after an engraving by T johnson from tho the lotto portrait owned by james W ellsworth of chicago 2 the landing of columbus in america painting by john vanderlyn tn in tho the rotunda of the united states capitol at washington D 0 3 queen isabella of spain who provided tire the money for columbus expedition 4 the caravels caravell Car avels of columbus at sea 5 the earliest picture of the landing of columbus A unique engraving made to illustrate sn en italian poem by gulliano guiliano dati printed in florence in 1403 1493 shortly after columbus return this te from a facsimile of the original in th the a british museum and Is reproduced here by courtesy of the yale university press which secured rt it for an illustration in the volume adventure era cra in the wilderness in the pageant of america series S all other lands be discovered wrote in the time has arrived when the verdict dict of posterity should be proclaimed this verdict must be as noble generous memorable and eternal as his deeds let america proclaim tt it in unison and let her acknowledge by all means that the honor of the discovery belongs to columbus that to him as the initiator of such great exploits are due the many discoveries that have been made by others to this day find and in order that this acknowledgment may be worthy of the new world let us erect in the most visible and notable place in america AmerI cn in a central point and where it may be visited by travelers as they approach her shores the statue that his greatness and remembrance demand 1 11 I designate as such a place cape isabella on the island of Hi because there the first city in america was founded and let it be designed by the best sculptor and paid with x acda raised by popular subscription in all the cities of europe and america in order that this may carry within itself all the attributes of perpetuity let there be established in this statue a lighthouse so travelers from the old and new worlds may look full of gratitude and er emotion notion toward that venerable image when they sight eight the first land from the sea nearly 30 20 years after these stirring words were penned another dominican asked the nations of america to operate cooperate co with ancient Hi to the end that a fitting memorial be roared reared to columbus on the spot where he first ebore on american soll this man was gen gregorio Ure gorlo luperon santo domingos greatest hero in her war against spain in ga although many statues hive have been dedicated in different lands to the honor of columbus one of the most notable being erected in the tk plaza of santo domingo city which has since own en ca called aled the plaza do de colon and his bis as ashes hes havo been enshrined in the cathedral in the city of SA sm I AO to domingo yet the idea of a monumental memorial conceived and built by all the people of america would not dle die at the time october 12 1892 the four hundredth anniversary of the discovery of america that the santo domingo government con strutted eted the great monument that now holds holda the remains of the discoverer and placed it ta in the cathedral there their hope was later to move more this tomb to an appropriate structure crowned by it a lighthouse lack of funds made mada this impossible and it was not until 1914 that really systematic labors were begun to bri bring about the building of the memorial S e to be participated in by all america the leader in this work was william B U pul llan ilan an american then receiver of dominican Domlnic an customs whose labors resulted in enlisting the interest of editors and publicists throughout north and south america mr also was the first to appear before the house committee on foreign affairs where he be explained the projected memorial and urged the united states government to participate in the proposal to tad mate make this testimonial of gratitude of all ail tile the americas Amerl cas to columbus an assured fact but international support of the long sought memorial failed to crystallize until I 1 1923 when the fifth international conference of american states met at Sant santiago lago do de chile here a resolution proposed by the dominican delegate jullo M cestero and unanimously adopted resolved to recommend that all the american republics unite to honor the memory of christopher columbus by the erection of a monumental lighthouse which will bear his name on the coast of santo domingo capital of the comial dominican republic and which shall be built with the operation cooperation co of the governments and people of america and any others who may so desire on june 27 1927 the congress of the united unite states ratified the action resolving that the several states be notified of the desire of the people of the united states to participate in this movement to honor the memory of the great navigator and disco discoverer meanwhile the governing committee of the pan american union having taken steps to secure pan american operation cooperation co resolved ta in april 1927 that the columbus lighthouse be erected on the coast of santo domingo since this site Is the most appropriate one for rendering homage to the memory of the great navigator this coast wak wai the first land touched ta in the journey which discovered the continent tt it was there that the vision of the new world given to civilization by the genius of columbus and the zeal of spain assumed reality tt was in Hi that columbus wishes his ashes to rest and there receive the veneration of america and it Is but just that the monument t to his glory should be erected on the scene of his fortunes and misfortunes n near ear the bite of the first colonial city and near the tomb where the piety of a nation has for centuries done reverence to his remains and in order that the offering may be more nearly perfect and more genuinely expressive of the significance of the discovery of the measure of progress and well being brought to humanity by the store of natural wealth on the continent discovered by columbus and of the contribution of culture brought to civilization by the intellectual labor of america the committee believes it would be fitting for each amerlean american nation to send in addition to pecuniary contribution trib ution a portion of earth from its ita soil to be deposited at the base of the monument and a product of its art or industry to be used in the building thereby giving real symbolic signi significance fl of what is most fundamental and most mod sacred in the national existence of each country the unanimity of thought labor and expense that animates all the 21 states of north south and central america in bringing about the de elgh and construction of this great memorial lemorl al Is one more proof and the greatest that columbus holds first place in the hearts of all men of almost equal significance to the united states is the further concrete evidence that in building this memorial the pan amerlean american union has actually become something moro more than it a paper union held together by nn an imposing building in washington further links la in the ties which bind pan america ma may y in consequence from this unity of effort be expected in the coming years and these links may well be orf of the greatest importance to the integrity of this nai nailon lion ilon 0 by western union |