Fountain of Eternal Life facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Fountain of Eternal Life |
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| War Memorial Fountain, Peace Arising from the Flames of War | |
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| Artist | Marshall Fredericks |
| Year | 1964 |
| Location | Cleveland, Ohio |
The Fountain of Eternal Life is a special statue and fountain in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. It's also known as the War Memorial Fountain or Peace Arising from the Flames of War. This amazing artwork was created by Marshall Fredericks, who studied at the Cleveland Institute of Art. It was officially opened on May 30, 1964.
The fountain honors people from the Greater Cleveland area who served in the military. It especially remembers those who died or went missing during their service. You can find it in Veterans' Memorial Plaza, which is part of the Cleveland Mall.
A Special Memorial in Cleveland
The idea for this fountain came from the Cleveland Press newspaper. They helped raise $250,000 from people and groups to build it. The main part of the fountain is a large 35-foot (11 m) bronze figure. This figure shows a person rising from the "flames of war." It reaches up towards "eternal peace."
The bronze ball that the figure rises from stands for Earth. Around this ball, there are four granite carvings. These carvings represent the different "geographic civilizations of the world." Marshall Fredericks, the artist, explained his main figure like this:
This Figure shows the main idea of the Memorial Fountain. It's about mankind's spirit rising out of the flames of war and destruction. It reaches and moves towards a new understanding of life. It shows people rising above death, reaching up to God and towards Peace.
—Marshall Fredericks
Around the fountain's polished granite edge, there are bronze plates. These plates have the names of 5,552 people from Greater Cleveland. These are people who died while serving in the military from 1899 to 2014. This includes soldiers from the Spanish–American War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, and the Iraq War. These names are part of the Greater Cleveland Veterans Memorial Honor Roll.
Honoring Heroes: When Was the Fountain Dedicated?
When the fountain was first opened in 1964, it had 4,155 names. These names were for Americans who died during World War II and the Korean War. The memorial was fully repaired when a parking garage was built nearby for the Key Tower. It was then opened again on Veterans Day in 1991.
In 2004, the memorial was rededicated again. At this time, 1,361 more names were added. These new names included people from the Spanish–American War, World War I, the Vietnam War, and the first six people who died in the Iraq War. It also included some names from World War II and the Korean War that were found later.
On July 25, 2014, another rededication happened. This time, 42 new names were added to the memorial. Most of these (33) were from the Iraq War. The rest were from the Vietnam War, the Korean War, and World War II.
See also
In Spanish: Fuente de la vida eterna para niños
