William McKinley Memorial

William McKinley Memorial, San Francisco

William McKinley Memorial

The McKinley Monument at Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, Northern California

Location| Panhandle Park, San Francisco, California, USA
Coordinates| 37°46′23″N 122°26′28″W﻿ / ﻿37.77306°N 122.44111°W﻿ / 37.77306; -122.44111
Designer| Robert Ingersoll Aitken
Material| bronze (Sculpture); granite (Base)[1]
Length| 15 ft. (Sculpture); 12 ft. (Base)
Width| 30 in. (Sculpture); 30 in. (Base)
Height| 60 in. (Sculpture); 60 in. (Base)
Completion date| 1904
Dedicated to| William McKinley
Website| Golden Gate Park

The William McKinley Memorial is a statue honoring the assassinated United States President William McKinley. It stands at the foot of Panhandle Park, San Francisco, California, and faces the DMV across Baker Street. Created by Robert Ingersoll Aitken (1878–1949) in 1904, the Monument was dedicated in 1903 by President Theodore Roosevelt, who succeeded McKinley after his assassination in 1901. The monument was unveiled on November 24, 1904 at the entrance to the Golden Gate Park panhandle. Over 5,000 people came to the unveiling. Speeches were made by former Mayor James D. Phelan, Mayor Eugene Schmitz, John McNaught, and others.

## History

[edit]

Relief bust of William McKinley shown in profile. 1908 Post Card of the McKinley Monument in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco.

On May 13, 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt visited San Francisco to break ground at the Golden Gate Park for the erection of a monument to the late President William McKinley. Five thousand people came to Golden Gate Park to see the president take a golden spade, dig into the ground and bring up a spadeful of earth. He was greeted by former Mayor James D. Phelan, who was president of the McKinley Memorial Fund. The monument was erected at a cost of $40,000.[2]

Robert Ingersoll Aitken, of San Francisco, was hired to sculpt a 15-foot (4.6 m) statue of a female figure, representing the  Republic, that stands dressed in a tunic and cape with a laurel wreath around her head. She holds a palm leaf in her raised right hand while her left hand grasps the shaft of a sword. The statue is placed on a base that is decorated with a bust of William McKinley shown in profile. The statue and base are on a circular four-stepped platform. The inscription on the front of the base is incised with the letters: WILLIAM MCKINLEY. On one side of the base is: GROUND FOR THIS MONUMENT WAS BROKEN BY PRES ROOSEVELT MAY 13, 1903. On the other side of the base: THIS MONUMENT WAS ERECTED BY THE PEOPLE OF SAN FRANCISCO A.D. 1904.[1]

On November 24, 1904, the monument was unveiled, at the entrance to the Golden Gate Park Panhandle, to the memory of William McKinley. Speeches were made by former Mayor James D. Phelan, Mayor Eugene Schmitz, John McNaught, and others. Over 5,000 people came to the unveiling. Robert I. Aitken was unable to attend as he was in Europe. The monument ranks among the best of his work.[3]

Refuges set up camp at base of the McKinley Monument (1906).

During the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, refugees sought safety by setting up camp at the base of the McKinley Memorial.[4]

The McKinley Memorial has been the target of graffiti artists for the past several years. The San Francisco Arts Commission has tried to stop this and is working with the North of Panhandle Neighborhood Association (NOPNA) and the Haight Ashbury Neighborhood Council (HANC) to come up with solutions. One plan was to put up a $65,000 fence to keep the taggers out.[5]

## See also

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* Robert Ingersoll Aitken
* Panhandle (San Francisco)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "McKinley Memorial, (sculpture)". Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
2. ^ "President Roosevelt Lauds Lamented M'Kinley At The Breaking Of Ground For The Monument To The Martyr Statesman at Golden Gate Park McKinley Memorial, (sculpture)". San Francisco, California: The San Francisco Call. May 14, 1903. p. 1. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
3. ^ "Monument To McKinley Memorial Is Unveiled". San Francisco, California: The San Francisco Call. November 25, 1904. p. 1. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
4. ^ "Crowds Seek Safety About McKinley Monument At Entrance to Park Panhandle". The San Francisco Examiner. San Francisco, California. April 21, 1906. p. 3. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
5. ^ "William McKinley monument takes a stand". San Francisco, California: www.sfgate.com. August 28, 2013. Retrieved January 4, 2022.

## External links

[edit]

* Golden Gate Park Official website

Wikimedia Commons has media related to William McKinley Memorial (San Francisco).

* v
* t
* e

William McKinley

* 25th President of the United States (1897–1901)
* 39th Governor of Ohio (1892–1896)

Life|

* 23rd Ohio Infantry Regiment
* Battle of South Mountain
* Coal miners' strike of 1873
* 1888 Republican National Convention
* McKinley Tariff
* 1896 United States presidential election
* William McKinley 1896 presidential campaign
* 1896 Republican National Convention
* Front porch campaign

Presidency
(timeline)|

* First inauguration of William McKinley
* Spanish–American War
* Philippine–American War
* Treaty of Paris (1898)
* Newlands Resolution
* Open Door Policy
* China Relief Expedition
* Hay–Pauncefote Treaty
* Dingley Act
* Erdman Act
* Forest Service Organic Administration Act of 1897
* Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899
* Refuse Act
* Lacey Act of 1900
* Gold Standard Act
* 1900 United States presidential election
* 1900 Republican National Convention
* Second inauguration of William McKinley
* Pan-American Exposition
* Assassination of William McKinley

Public image|

* McKinley at Home, Canton, Ohio
* McKinley National Memorial
* McKinley Monument
* William McKinley Presidential Library and Museum
* National McKinley Birthplace Memorial
* McKinley Birthplace Home and Research Center
* William McKinley Memorial
* McKinley Birthplace Memorial gold dollar
* William McKinley Monument
* Statues
* Canton, Ohio
* Chicago
* Mount McKinley

Family|

* Ida Saxton McKinley (wife)
* William McKinley Sr. (father)

* ← Grover Cleveland
* Theodore Roosevelt →

* Category

* v
* t
* e

Robert Ingersoll Aitken

Sculptures|

* Goddess of Victory at the Dewey Monument (1903)
* William McKinley Memorial (1904)
* George Rogers Clark Monument (1921)
* William A. Starke Memorial (1921)
* The Sciences and The Arts Fountains (1924)
* Iron Mike at Parris Island (1924)
* Lumberman's Monument (1931)
* Samuel Gompers Memorial (1933)
* Equal Justice Under Law piedmont of the U.S. Supreme Court Building (1935)

U.S. coins designed|

* $50 Panama–Pacific commemorative coin (1915)
* Missouri Centennial half dollar (1921)
* California Pacific International Exposition half dollar (1935)

* v
* t
* e

Public art in San Francisco

Works|

* Admission Day Monument
* Aurora
* California Volunteers
* El Cid Campeador
* Cupid's Span
* Curved Form
* Dewey Monument
* Double L Excentric Gyratory
* Dragon Gate
* The Emperor Has No Balls
* Goddess of Democracy
* Goethe–Schiller Monument
* Guardians of the Gate
* History of San Francisco
* Holocaust Memorial at California Palace of the Legion of Honor
* Invisible Man and the Masque of Blackness
* La Chiffonnière
* Large Four Piece Reclining Figure 1972–73
* Mechanics Monument
* Pan American Unity
* Pink Triangle Park
* Pioneer Monument
* Point of Infinity
* Robert Louis Stevenson Memorial
* Roman Gladiator
* San Francisco Fountain
* Shaking Man
* Skygate
* Statue of Ashurbanipal
* The Thinker
* Three Heads Six Arms
* United Nations Plaza Fountain
* Untitled
* Vaillancourt Fountain
* Wave Organ
* West Coast Memorial to the Missing of World War II

| Portrait
statues|

* Abraham Lincoln
* Robert Emmet
* Benjamin Franklin
* Mahatma Gandhi
* Sun Yat-sen
* William McKinely
* Ludwig van Beethoven
* Simón Bolívar
* Willie McCovey
* Willie Mays
* Juan Marichal
* Ulysses S. Grant

|

Related|

* Graffiti in San Francisco

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