By
1921 the process for construction of a new Liberty Memorial had evolved significantly. The
type of memorial--a monument plus a building--had been determined. Pledges of over
$2,000,000 had been gathered during a public subscription. The plot of land directly south
of Union Station had been agreed upon as the site. The next step was to choose an
architect.
In an effort to satisfy the
large number of people involved in and touched by the project, members of the Liberty
Memorial Association determined an architectural competition would be the most appropriate
means for choosing a designer. They were assisted in this task by a professional advisor,
who offered guidance in shaping the way the competition would be held. There was some
controversy in this, as the contest was open to firms across the country, and many
believed it should be limited to Kansas City architects. Despite this rancor, in 1920 the
Association published guidelines for the contest in a brochure entitled Program:
Competition for the Selection of an Architect to Design and Supervise the Construction of
a Memorial at Kansas City, Missouri. In this publication the aims of the Association
were made clear; namely, that the Memorial should be: |
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- First - an inspiring monument worth of the
record of which it is to be the messenger--a symbol not of War, but of Peace and the dawn
of an era of Peace.
- Second - a focal keypoint in the great
architectural composition destined someday to occupy the whole site.
- Third - the taking of the first step that
shall grow into a comprehensive and general conception of the ultimate development of the
whole site--by the employment of an architect for the Memorial proper, who shall prove
worthy to guide the whole enterprise to its complete fruition.
A five-member jury was
selected, and included W.R.B Willcox of Seattle; John Gamble Rogers, Louis Ayers, and
Henry Bacon, all of New York; and John M. Donaldson, Detroit. The competition began on
February 1, 1921. The professional advisor stopped taking queries from entrants on March
15. Competition showings were to be received by June 15, and from that date to July 1,
judgement and announcement of winners was to be made. The renderings were placed on public
exhibit in the gymnasium of Northeast High School, and the winners announced on June 28,
1921.
The analyses of the entries
that appear in this exhibit are taken from Sarajane Sandusky Aber's thesis, An
Architectural History of the Liberty Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri, 1918- 1935
(University of Missouri - Kansas City, 1988), and are used here with the generous
permission of the author. |
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