(NOTE - you may have to hit a "READ MORE" link at the bottom of this page to continue. There are nearly 60 photos and far too much blither. Thanks for your patience!)
Hello friends and relations!
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| Elks National Memorial, Chicago |
We are home this fall, but will return to Rome in late March, 2015. In the meantime, here is a lovely memorial in Chicago, which is very much like the Roman Pantheon.
(We are leaving for New York City Thursday to visit good friends. The pictures from there will be on a separate blog.)
Last Monday I slogged up to the mid-north side of Chicago for an annual checkup with my physician. Since I was there, and it was a lovely day, I thought I would finally visit the Elks National Memorial nearby. (Amazing how one can miss things in one's own town!)
Below are two google maps. On the left is my bus route there, through downtown. I live very near the lake at the end of the blue line on the left map. On the right is a wider view, downtown is in the red circle, the City itself is the light tan area. The Elks Memorial is only about 10 miles, or 16 kilometers, from my home, but on semi-express buses, I need an hour to arrive there. (By car in non-rush hour the trip requires about 20 minutes.)
First, here's two doorways I saw nearby.
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I made certain I approached the Memorial from the east.
Note, don't even think of driving here! The parking is almost non-existent. There are a number of buses, and the elevated train has a stop not that far away on Diversey Avenue. Lakeview Avenue starts at the south end of the better-known Sheridan Road.
Compare this image to the below 1549 engraving of an
imagined reconstruction of Pantheon in Rome,
and you may note some similarities.
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| This engraving of the Pantheon (and a few other finds from nearby) was published in 1549 by Antonio Lafreri. A digital image is findable (along with hundreds of other treats) at the University of Chicago's Library website Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae. http://speculum.lib.uchicago.edu/view.php?id=speculum-0015-001&title=(A15)%20Pantheon
The Elks held a competition for their Memorial's design, and chose
New York architect Egerton Swarthout. They ended up entrusting the Hegeman-Harris Company, also of New York, to build it.
A friend quipped that "no Chicago architect would build in so Classical a style in the 1920's". But Neo-Classicism was not that much out of date, and these elements do have timeless qualities.
But before taking you inside, I want to finish outside. Across the street from the Memorial are two memorials to the German poet, writer and statesman Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, with a quotation from his work "Faust". A dozen yards (or meters) away is a heroic, idealized statue to Goethe, from the German citizens of Chicago. This was erected in 1913, and happily survived any resentment towards the German Kingdom and later the German Reich during the First & Second World Wars.
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So, back to the Elks. This Memorial was opened in 1926 in honor of the more than one thousand men of the Elks organization
who died in World War I,
and to be the site of their National Headquarters.
It is still the HQ of this benevolent charity; they have a lean administration and there are office areas not in my photos.
Their website says there are 850,000 members worldwide.
They also have reminders of the many fallen in the
U.S. Armed Forces in subsequent wars.
This wonderful place is open to the public without charge, Mondays through Saturdays from noon to 4 p.m., but only from April 15th to November 15th. The formal address is 2750 N. Lakeview Avenue.
In 1921, the Elks wanted a memorial that
"for generations to come prove an inspiration to that loyalty and patriotism which the Order so earnestly teaches and has so worthily exemplified".
An external lantern at the entrance. Note the Elk's head tucked away behind this.
At long last, my pictures of the inside start below! Those of you who have been to the Pantheon in Rome will recognize certain familiar features.
ALL the splendid marbles inside are real. Everything is of the highest quality materials and craftsmanship.
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| From the Elks' website, here is a 1924 construction photo. Lake Shore Drive had not yet been built, and there were no high-rises crowding the neighborhood. |
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There are a number of side chambers and corridors. Right is a glimpse of part of their memorial lists for the fallen.
In the rear of the building is their Great Reception Hall.
This is almost an understatement, for
anyone else would call it at least a ballroom.
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| A friend asked if this face is a devil. To an ancient Romans, this is a Satyr (the horns represent their goat-like or appetite-driven bestial nature) and their name has continued in modern languages. They were followers of the wine-god Dionysius and were the original "party animals". The early ascetic Christians understandably wanted to distance themselves from these pagan ways and "demonized" these mischievous, lascivious creatures. |
The motifs in the stained glass windows are taken directly from the ancient Roman styles, possibly from the time of the height of the Empire from about 100 AD to 300 AD. There are fine Art Nouveau additions.
All this artwork isn't just for "show". These panels convey the Elk's primary messages of Justice and of Brotherhood.
The American Eagle is below is support of, or perhaps guarding Justice.
The Elks have provided several explanatory panels and labels.
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| Long view across the Grand Reception Room. The dome area is off to the left, and the stained glass windows on the right catch the afternoon sun. |
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| Several murals adorn the Grand Reception Hall. Above is one of their website's photos of a very moving mural about the Armistice of November 11, 1918. It would have been the greatest gift to humankind if "The Great War" was indeed, as hoped at the time, "the war to end all wars". If you wish, you can read more about this mural at http://www.elks.org/memorial/artTour.cfm |
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| Ceiling medallion with a botanist examining a plant, while an astronomer discusses the heavens with another scholar. |
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| There are several medallions showing the glories of the efforts of working people. Here a builder (or architect) consults a scroll (instead of rectangular shaped blue prints) while two very muscular laborers wield mighty tools. |
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| This is one of two graceful staircases leading to the restroom areas and further displays about the Elks' many charitable projects. |
There is an open air space between the drum of the dome and the offices in the building, providing light and a restful reminder of the outside world.
The below mural represents Fraternity, and is adjacent to the Grand Reception Hall.
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A view towards the domed area, with the Grand Reception Hall behind me. There is currently an art exhibit, which prevents a good view of the special paving of the floor. The motif of circles and squares in red and green marble is an adaptation of the Pantheon's flooring.
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| The Elks' Memorial differs from the Pantheon, in not being a church, nor as ancient, nor originally a temple to "All the Gods" but I believe both are a tribute to mankind's desires for peace and goodness. |
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| In the main domed area are four of the virtues the Elks hold dear. In addition to Charity, they have statues representing Brotherly Love, Fidelity and Justice. |
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| A detail of murals beneath the dome. My camera can't manage this much zoom, so I've borrowed this image from the Elks' website. |
Thank you for wading through this!
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