A Noble Reminder of Peace
NYC?EUR??,,????'???s Nobel Monument Unveiled
“Today, more than ever, we need to remind ourselves of the ideal of a peaceful solution to conflict that Alfred Nobel believed in.”–Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon, speaking at the unveiling of the Alfred Nobel Monument in New York City?EUR??,,????'???s Theodore Roosevelt Park.
The Nobel Monument in Manhattan?EUR??,,????'???s Theodore Roosevelt Park, home to the American Museum of Natural History since 1869, was unveiled October 14, 2003.
N.Y. Mayor Michael Bloomberg was on hand for the dedication, as were Margareta Winberg, deputy prime minister of Sweden; Dr. John Marburger III, science advisor to President Bush and director of the Office of Science and Technology; Jan Eliasson, ambassador of Sweden to the United States; Olle W?????stberg, consul general of Sweden in New York; Adrian Benepe, N.Y.C. Parks & Recreation Commissioner; Patricia Harris, deputy mayor for administration; and about 30 Nobel Prize Laureates.
The Nobel Monument is a four-sided monolith of rough-hewn red Swedish granite designed by Swedish sculptor Sivert Lindblom. Two steps lead to the monument, with each corner framed by a rounded piece of polished black granite (diabase). Installed at the top corners of the structure are small bronze spheres.
Mayor Bloomberg said New York City was a fitting home for the monument, as of the 271 Americans that have received the Nobel Prize, 24 have been graduates of New York City?EUR??,,????'???s public schools.
Commissioner Benepe deemed the stone obelisk the city?EUR??,,????'???s ?EUR??,,????'??first tribute to intellectual and artistic achievement–a shrine to the mind that will inspire the next generation of laureates.?EUR??,,????'??
The Nobel Monument is a monolith with four sides of rough-hewn red Swedish granite. Two steps lead to the monolith and each corner is framed by a rounded piece of polished black diabase (granite). At the top, each corner is punctuated by small bronze spheres. A bronze relief medallion, depicting a likeness of Alfred Nobel, is installed on the front face on the monolith. Below the medallion text reads ?EUR??,,????'??Founder of the Nobel Prize, Swedish Inventor, Industrialist, Philanthropist and Humanist?EUR??,,????'?? and above reads ?EUR??,,????'??Physics, Chemistry, Medicine, Literature, Peace, Economics.?EUR??,,????'?? The remaining three sides bear the inscription ?EUR??,,????'??American Recipients of the Nobel Prize.?EUR??,,????'?? Beginning on the west face, a chronological list of 271 American recipients of the Nobel Prize is inscribed. Space has been reserved to inscribe the names of future American Nobel prizewinners. Parks & Recreation renovated the small plaza surrounding the Nobel Monument. Immediately around the monument there is a ring of red granite. Beyond that there are rings of belfast black granite pavers, octagonal bands of granite and asphalt paving blocks.
A bronze relief medallion of Alfred Nobel is on the front face. Inscribed on the other faces are the 271 American recipients of the Nobel Prize.
The Nobel Monument was first proposed by the consulate general of Sweden in New York and American Nobel laureates. Work began in November 2001 after it received approval from the New York City Art Commission and Landmarks Preservation Commission. The monument was designed by Sivert Lindblom, one of Sweden?EUR??,,????'???s foremost designers of urban spaces, and was produced by Sk??EUR??,,??nska Granit in Sweden; the typography was designed by Lars Hall AB. Lindblom also designed the Holocaust Monument in Stockholm.
The park in which the monument resides, Theodore Roosevelt Park, is named for the 26th U.S. president who in 1906 became the first American awarded the Nobel Prize (for peace) for his negotiations with Japan and Russia, which led to the Treaty of Portsmouth and ended war between the two countries in 1905. As a historic footnote, T.R. did not pick up the prize in Christiania, Norway until May 5, 1910, a year and two months after leaving office. He did not feel it appropriate to accept the prize while he was in office.
The $400,000 installation and long-term maintenance endowment for the monument was funded primarily by Merck Company Foundation, with additional support from Skanska, Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation, Ambassador and Mrs. Lyndon L. Olson, and NCR Corporation.
Alfred Nobel discovered how to control the explosive force of nytroglicerine and used the Greek word dynamis to describe his invention–dynamite.
Not everyone was pleased by the monument?EUR??,,????'???s erection. LANDMARK WEST!, a nonprofit organization ?EUR??,,????'??committed to the preservation of the architectural heritage of the Upper West Side,?EUR??,,????'?? strongly objected to the location, size, and scale of the proposed monument, stating that the parks department had ?EUR??,,????'??not addressed the harmful impact that this looming, permanent hardscape feature would have on this critical greenspace,?EUR??,,????'?? and that the overall design was an ?EUR??,,????'??intrusion of little artistic integrity, having been tweaked and tortured to the point that it is difficult to comprehend what drives its composition.?EUR??,,????'?? The group, along with Friends of Museum Park, had suggested an interactive, permanent exhibit inside the museum, or inscribing the names of the Nobel winners in the pavement.
