{"nrhp_refnum":"86001089","name":"Victory Sculpture","other_names":[],"category":"object","location":{"address":"Thirty-fifth St. at King Dr.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Chicago","county":"Cook County","state":"IL","lat":41.83109129400003,"lon":-87.61747301999998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1986-04-30","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Military","Black","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A granite pylon monument with bronze relief panels on a concrete base, standing in the median of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive (formerly Grand Boulevard) at 35th Street in Chicago. It was built in 1927, with a figure added in 1936.","why_significant":"The monument honors the valor of the Eighth Regiment of the Illinois National Guard, the first regiment entirely commanded by Black officers, in World War I. The form calls it the second monument in the United States honoring Black war heroes. It is described as one of the most famous landmarks of Chicago's Black community and hosts an annual Memorial Day ceremony.","narrative":"Rising from the median of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive at 35th Street in Chicago, this granite pylon on a concrete base honors the Eighth Regiment of the Illinois National Guard, known as the \"Fighting Eighth,\" which served in France under the 370th U.S. Infantry. After World War I, the Black community petitioned for a monument and met resistance from the South Park Commission, which relented after the Chicago Defender urged a \"vote no\" campaign. The state and the commission jointly funded the work, and it replaced a fountain in the boulevard. French-born sculptor Leonard Crunelle created the bronze panels, showing a soldier, a mother figure and Columbia, while architect John A. Nyden collaborated on the base. It was dedicated on Armistice Day, 1927. A uniformed doughboy figure by Crunelle was added in 1936. The regiment was the first entirely commanded by Black officers, and the monument is considered the second in the nation honoring Black war heroes. Survivors of the regiment gathered here each Memorial Day.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Leonard Crunelle, sculptor; John A. Nyden, architect","architectural_style":null,"criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Site of an annual Memorial Day ceremony; the 1936 doughboy figure was added to the original composition.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.192385-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/44/8910/28891044/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/86001089.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86001089/57ac6102ef-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86001089/57ac6102ef-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Joe Ravi","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Victory_Monument_Chicago.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Joe Ravi</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Victory_Monument_Chicago.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28891044","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victory_Monument_(Chicago)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q616194"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/cook-county/victory-sculpture-86001089/"}