NAME: U.S.S. Maine National Monument

PHOTO:

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LOCATION: POINT (-73.9814851740800208 40.7684317697610581)

DATE: Dedicated: 1913

SCULPTOR: Attilio Piccarlilli

DONOR: National Maine Monument Fund (raised by public subscription)

HISTORY: February 15,1898 off the coast of Cuba, the U.S. battleship Maine exploded and sunk, killing over 260 American seamen. While there was never any conclusive evidence that the explosion was the result of tentions between Cuba and Spain. Fueled by newspaper headlines, citizens of the United States began to pressure the government to take action - with cries of "Remember the Main, to Hell with Spain" - two months later The United States was at war with Spain (Lederer, 113). Newspaper publisher, William Randolph Hearst, began a public campaign to raise money for a memorial soon after the explosion. After forming the Maine Monument Committee, school children, individuals and organizations all donated to the fund. All efforts to construct this monument were made "public" through the pages of Hearst's papers (Bogart, 200).

NEWS COVERAGE 1:

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NEWS COVERAGE 2:

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NEXT MONUMENT: Fireman's Memorial

WORKS CITED: IMAGE: (form left to right) 1. Wurst Brothers, Maine Monument, Collection of photographs of New York City, New York City. 2. nyparks.gov, U.S.S. Maine National Monument 3. Irving Underhill, Maine Monument, Mid-Manhattan Library/Picture Collection, New York City. MONUMENT TO THE MAINE.: Collection of Funds for Memorial of Dead Sailors to Be Begun. New York Times (1857-1922); Feb 14, 1910; pg. 3 UNVEIL MEMORIAL TO MAINE HEROES: Battleship Fleet in Hudson Thunders National Salute as Monument ... New York Times (1857-1922); May 31, 1913; pg. 3 TEXT Bogart, H. Michele. Public Sculpture and the Civic Ideal in New York City, 1890-1930,. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London Press, 1952. Lederer, Joseph. All Around the Town: A walking Guide to Outdoor Sculpture in New York City. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1975.