Notes on a Neglected American Renaissance Monument - The Hall of Fame for Great Americans
by Elena Kemelman

The Hall of Fame will be a popular educational influence of very great value, and of greater value when mural paintings and statues and busts shall have been added. (World's Work, December 1900)

Hall of Fame for Great Americans, Gould Memorial Library (center) and Hall of Languages (right), Bronx Community College. Photo by Elena Kemelman.

Format and Purposes:

The following is hardly an article in the traditional sense. Instead it is in the form of "notes" and thoughts brought together from information gathered over the course of the last two months. Since it was not my intention to write a paper that would have a clear-cut thesis or present a fully-researched topic, I decided to experiment with this format.

I begin by relaying how I came across and learned of the monument, The Hall of Fame for Great Americans at Bronx Community College. This is followed by background information on the history and sculptors of The Hall of Fame. I choose to reprint an article that I wrote this summer, rather than weave it in with more specific ideas and issues. I continue by discussing what I didn't mention in the article, mainly focusing on the lack of scholarship on the subject. Further, I examine the characteristics that identify The Hall of Fame as an American Renaissance monument and I conclude with a brief update on its current condition and financial state

In presenting my research as I have in this paper, I hope to fulfill my secondary aim to broaden the possibilities of disseminating information by challenging the traditional forms of style and methodology in scholarship. I feel that online writing may be more flexible, if the venue allows, in this case an online art history journal aimed for an audience of graduate students.

My hope is that these notes might stimulate further discussion and research of the subject and generate online feedback that might be helpful for interested scholars or other writers.

At the end I provide sources and documentation notes, a smmary of related online sites, and a list of sculptors and their portrait busts.

I have included within the text photographs that I took on the premises. May I suggest that you look at the following site http://www.bcc.cuny.edu/hallofFame which offers both a "Photo Gallery" and a "Virtual Reality Scene" with a zoom in and out feature. Also, there are a few worthwhile photos at http://www.forgottenny.com/STREETSCENES/HallOf20Fame/hallfame.htm.

How I came across the subject:

In the beginning of the summer, I was given a folder of information, mostly secondary sources, on The Hall of Fame for Great Americans and asked by the editor to write an article of a few pages for the National Sculpture Society News Bulletin, the newsletter of the National Sculpture Society.

The subject was not wholly new to me, that is I had actually visited this monument a few years back. I also recalled that I did at some point in graduate school want to research the topic. The truth is I couldn't remember at that moment if the work was located at Lehman College or Bronx Community College. But I knew it was in the Bronx and on a City University of New York college campus.

It was later in the day that I went through the events in my mind on how I came across this monument. I was applying to the graduate art history program at The Graduate Center of The City University of New York (CUNY) and for some reason, I think a friend suggested it, I should include a dissertation topic that I might pursue if accepted. Having an interest in public sculpture, but not being too clear on what a dissertation entails, I came up with the enormous proposal of art on CUNY campuses. I got my camera, my notes and tokens (before Metrocard days) and headed, over the course of a few days, from one CUNY campus to another. I think I started out in Kingsborough Community College, which is the closest CUNY to me and ventured as far as Bronx Community College. There, at BCC, coming across by mere chance, I discovered, or at least I thought I discovered, a lost treasure. That was how I came to know of The Hall of Fame for Great Americans.

Yet, even after having visited The Hall of Fame a few years back and having heard in a graduate school course that it still exists quietly in the Bronx, I remained in a quandary of what it was and how it came to be.

What is The Hall of Fame for Great Americans:

In considering this question and how to bring together factual information with other issues and concerns, I decided to reprint here, with a few changes and omissions, the article that I wrote for the National Sculpture Society News Bulletin (published August -September 2000). This article was written for an audience of National Sculpture Society members, particularly its sculptor members. My interest in the National Sculpture Society - the first professional organization for sculptors in America (founded 1893) - stems back a few years, having done an internship there. I am also currently writing and researching my dissertation, "The Professionalization of Sculptors in America: the Origins of the National Sculpture Society." Having established some background information here, I follow by discussing what wasn't included in the article.

Semi-circular colonnade, Hall of Fame for Great Americans, Bronx Community College. Photo by Elena Kemelman.

The Hall of Fame for Great Americans approaching the one-hundredth anniversary of its official dedication date of May 30, 1901 (built 1900-1901) is a formidable work of art and architecture, and is America's first hall of fame. It honors American men and women of distinction in the fields of science, art, literature, religion, education, business, government and social and economic reform. Chosen in elections held over the course of seventy-six years (1900-1976), nearly one-hundred Americans are represented by individual life-like portrait busts installed within an open-air colonnaded terrace known as The Hall of Fame for Great Americans.

The 630 feet long semi-circular colonnade, along with its three adjacent Beaux-Arts style buildings (The Gould Memorial Library, the Halls of Philosophy and Languages) was designed by Stanford White, architect of the Washington Memorial Arch in New York's Washington Square Park, among many other important public and private works. The terrace with its curving form was designed by the architect to set off the rigidity of its landscape. The idea of turning the structure into a hall of fame that would serve an educational purpose was conceived by Henry M. MacCracken, Chancellor of New York University (1891-1910).

Once the uptown campus of New York University, the grounds on which The Hall of Fame is located was ceded to Bronx Community College in 1973; the campus is located at University Avenue and West 181st Street.

The terrace and its cluster of buildings stand "on the highest natural point in New York City" overlooking the New Jersey Palisades and the Harlem and Hudson Rivers. The site holds a special place in the history of the American Revolution, when it was used as a British fort.

Following years of disregard and bad publicity, it has received positive print, television, and magazine coverage over the last decade. Yet in spite of the renewed popular interest in this "National Pantheon" - which has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since February 1966 - the nearly six dozen sculptors and the bronze busts they created have received little attention.

All together 102 niches contain 98 busts executed by a total of 55 sculptors. Four niches remain empty, with the busts of the four honorees yet to be installed since their 1970s elections. Thanks to restoration work done in the 1980s and early 1990s, both the busts and the terrace are in good condition. Underneath each bust is a long horizontal bronze tablet, inscribed with the honoree's name, dates of birth and death and a quote or in the case of two composers, the clever choice of musical scores instead of words.

Since sculptors were asked to contribute a work made expressly for The Hall of Fame, all but nine busts, which are replicas, are original to the monument. The dates of execution of original busts range from the early 1920s to the late 1970s. In light of the fact that candidates for election were only eligible to be nominated after their deaths (a designated number of years), the sculptors would have presumably had to turn to pictorial or plastic sources for inspiration. In spite of this disadvantage, and a credit to them, the sculptors overall endowed their subjects with dignity and humility, a sense of naturalism and personality.

An added attraction is the replica bust of Jean-Antoine Houdon's Marquis de Lafayette, separately chosen in way of honoring his role in the American Revolution. The bust is located in an exterior wall niche of the centrally connected building, the domed Gould Memorial Library, originally named in memory of Jay Gould, the railroad tycoon and father of The Hall of Fame's first financial donor, Helen Miller Gould Shepard. Houdon's work is also represented in his replicas of George Washington (the only subject to receive unanimous votes, elected 1900) and Robert Fulton (elected 1900), both part of the colonnade group of 98 portraits.

There are fourteen works, including both male and female subjects, by eleven women sculptors. Women candidates were eligible from the first election in 1900, thought it was not until the second election, five years later, with the inclusion of three female inductees, that women were represented on the list of great Americans. By 1922, a total of eight women were selected, and the original 1914 plan to separate women honorees in their own "Hall of Fame for Women" within the colonnade was abandoned.

As a group, the 98 busts form an important and impressive collection of American portrait sculpture in bronze and have been noted to be "the largest and finest collection of bronze busts anywhere in our country." Of the 55 sculptors, all are considered American sculptors or are distinguished for their contribution to American sculpture. The latter applies to the Italian Giuseppe Ceracchi, who visited the U.S. in the 1790s, and France's finest eighteenth century sculptor, Jean Antoine Houdon, who modeled George Washington from life in his Mount Vernon estate.

Notably, since almost three-quarters of the 55 sculptors can be identified as having been members of the National Sculpture Society, The Hall of Fame for Great Americans holds special significance in the history of this organization. In light of the large representation of its past members' work, the NSS can rightly consider the sculpture displayed in this monument to be among its noted contributions to American art. (The NSS also played an integral civic role in the late 1970s when it drew together a "coalition" of over thirty organizations in an effort to rescue the monument from deterioration caused, in part, to lack of federal funding.)

A number of the sculptors had successful professional careers before they made their contributions to The Hall of Fame and of those whose work is original to the monument, Daniel Chester French is by far the most celebrated. Other sculptors are lesser known today, but notable in their own right. As has been the unfortunate fate of a few of the monument's honorees, some of the sculptors are unknown or forgotten.

James Abbott McNeill Whistler, Frederick MacMonnies, 1931. Bronze. Hall of Fame for Great Americans, Bronx Community College. Photo by Elena Kemelman.

French, whose seated Lincoln in Washington D.C.'s Lincoln Memorial awes thousands of visitors each year, is one of America's sculptors of poetic genius. In the 1920s, when he was in his seventies, French executed four busts for The Hall of Fame. Among them is Edgar Allan Poe (elected 1910), whose physiognomy and tight, off-centered scarf reflect the poet's difficult life and ominous subject matter. Frederick MacMonnies, another important American sculptor, lived in France for years, and even had his own "school" in Giverny to which American students flocked for instruction from the revered "master." Appropriately, among one of three of his busts is the portrait of expatriate painter James Abbott McNeill Whistler (elected 1930) modeled in MacMonnies characteristically animated style.

Other sculptors who created original work to the monument include, but are not limited to Herbert Adams, Robert Aitken, Chester Beach, Alexander S. Calder, John Flanagan, James Earle Fraser, Laura Gardin Fraser, Charles Grafly, Frances Grimes, Malvina Hoffman, Anna Hyatt Huntington, Hermon A. MacNeil, Brenda Putnam, Lorado Taft and Adolph Weinman. Each made their individual contribution to American sculpture. Adams was critically acclaimed for his use of polychromy and the feminine, ideal portraits of women he created. Recognized for her superb animal sculpture, Huntington's Joan of Arc (1915) was the first known heroic equestrian statue by a woman. MacNeil spent over a decade studying and executing sculpture of American Indian people and themes. Author of the first comprehensive survey of American nineteenth century sculptors and their oeuvre (published 1903), Taft was an ardent critic of modern art, although his own work was characterized by simple, abstract forms.

From the group, one of the more masterfully executed busts is Laura Gardin Fraser's portrait of Mary Lyon (elected 1905), the early nineteenth century pioneer in women's higher education. The flatness of the face and the minimal use of detail in the hair and dress reveal the controlled craftsmanship of this sculptor.

Augustus Saint-Gaudens, James Earle Fraser, 1926. Bronze. Hall of Fame for Great Americans, Bronx Community College. Photo by Elena Kemelman.

In the company of painters, actors and composers, stands the portrait of one sculptor honoree, Augustus Saint-Gaudens (elected 1920). Certainly the most influential, prolific and dedicated American sculptor of the late-nineteenth century, Saint-Gaudens is best known for his standing Lincoln in Chicago Park and the equestrian statue of General Sherman placed at the 59th Street entrance to Central Park in New York City. James Earle Fraser, sculptor of the popular End of the Trail, portrayed the eminent artist as a powerful and virile individual, emphasized by the broadness and musculature of his naked torso. At the same time, his brooding eyes and reflective countenance reveal a man of creativity and contemplation. Saint-Gaudens' work is represented by the replica busts of Abraham Lincoln (elected 1900) and William Tecumseh Sherman (elected 1905).

The Hall of Fame for Great Americans sadly continues to suffer from insufficient funding in spite of many important reasons, both aesthetic and historical, why it should receive the financial attention it deserves to secure it for longevity. The monument is under the directorship of Ralph Rourke, an Emmy-award winning producer and former Public Affairs Officer at NYU, who honorably is committed to preserving its original function as an educational and inspirational tool for students and visitors alike.

What I didn't mention in the article:

There was much that I learned about the history and current state of the monument in writing this brief article that was not appropriate or necessary to mention. (I also discovered more primary material after writing the article.) It was also not important for me to outline documents, sources and archives, which I wish to do here and at the end of this paper. For one, I hope it will show the extent of information that exists on this subject and how little has been done with it on the scholarly level.

Perhaps, it would also be appropriate to ask why hasn't anything scholarly been written on The Hall of Fame and why has it virtually been disregarded by researchers interested in public art? I should also qualify that when I say the work has been "neglected," a word I use in the title of this paper, I specifically refer to the degree the monument has been ignored by academia - apparently no serious scholarship on the work has been done. It seems to have not merited a dissertation topic in any discipline, an article in a serious journal, including an art history periodical, or the focus of a book. (I should note that my bibliography is not exhaustive, so if my search has not come up with something relevant, I certainly apologize for the omission and hope to learn what it might be. Also because there was no abstract on file in the database on Alice Louisa Dement, "The higher education of Hall-of-Fame Americans," Ph.D. diss., Stanford U, 1950, I could not determine at this time if her subject relates to the Bronx monument.)

A few magazine articles in the last decade have featured the monument, but are hardly substantial in the scholarly sense. The articles tend to be of a cultural or popular nature, give basic facts, mention other halls of fame and reflect on the notion of fame and how it is perceived today in comparison to the past. One of the more informed articles is by Philip M. Katz, "Valhalla in the Bronx," which appeared in CultureFront magazine (Summer 1998), a publication of the New York Council of Humanities. Katz weaves together the history and current purposes of the monument with his own personal reflections in a sympathetic manner toward his subject.

There are certainly any number of approaches that can be taken in writing about this monument. It could be considered from the angle of its artistic merit, place in American art and architecture, identity as an American Renaissance monument (I focus on this aspect below), as a public monument, as a work on a college campus, as a patriotic and national symbol, not to mention the notions of fame and hero-worship in America, the issues of race, gender and multiculturalism (these issues have been raised - see "Sources and Documentation Notes"), the question of federal funding, and the Preservation Movement. These are only a few of the "topics" from which The Hall of Fame could be considered. From a strictly art historical angle, it would certainly be of value to examine the European precedents and prototypes that influenced the American conception of the country's first hall of fame. Along the same lines, it would be of interest to compare this group of "worthies" with earlier portrait art collections in America of distinguished subjects.

My own interest in the immediate future may only take me to further uncover the role the National Sculpture Society had in the choice of sculptors chosen for the busts and the sculpture as a group. It was not only that my audience would be sculptors that I chose to focus on the sculptors, but that in doing a bibliographic search, I found that the sculpture of the monument has virtually been ignored. Most of the magazine articles that I have come across dating back to the installation of the first busts either do not mention the sculptors of the busts, or just cite their names. (The first bust to be installed was of Horace Mann, unveiled May 1907 - the sculptor is identified as unknown and the work was a replica; it was replaced by an original work by Adolph A. Weinman in May 1930.) The focus in the print media has been, from the start, on the subjects of the busts, the honorees, and this pattern continues to the present. I'm not going to say that all the busts are of the highest caliber, but certainly there a number of noteworthy examples of portraiture in bronze, and as a group, they deserve both popular and scholarly attention.

In addition, there is a whole history behind this monument, documented in scores of newspaper articles and editorial notices - the inauguration itself generated "thousands" - to be pulled together and examined. Like many other American monuments from the late-nineteenth century or turn-of-the century, the coverage on The Hall of Fame has run the gamut from over-exposure to virtual neglect. This degree of popular interest to disinterest in itself speaks to many issues and demonstrates that the monument's history spans the changing tastes, movements, and values of an entire century.

Through an examination of the articles a fuller picture of the monument's selection of nominees, the electoral process, the dedication ceremonies, the celebrations and installations could be brought to light. A point of interest is the trumpeters at the inaugural ceremonies where a group of women wearing togas and braided hair walked triumphantly in the processional. The monument, with its Beaux-Arts style architecture was certainly harking back symbolically to a time, particularly classical times when life might have seemed purer and somewhat heroic. It would be interesting to know what the public thought of the monument and the level of patriotic feeling that was invoked by its dedication, which took place on Memorial Day, May 30, 1901.

Needless to say, I've only touched on some of the contexts in which The Hall of Fame for Great Americans could be approached. Without a doubt there exists ample primary sources and other resources for further research, investigation and discussion on this monument. (At the end of the paper I briefly outline some of these sources.)

Why The Hall of Fame is an American Renaissance monument:

The Hall of Fame for Great Americans was conceived in the spirit of the American Renaissance and is truly an American Renaissance monument. It therefore shares many of the main characteristics that define any American Renaissance monument and the intentions, vision, and purposes in its creation are closely aligned with other prominent public projects and artistic works of this period.

The American Renaissance was a period, a movement, and a way of thinking that prevailed over the art and architecture of America and the social and intellectual life of Americans between the third-quarter of the nineteenth century to the first-quarter of the twentieth century. The exact time-frame of this period is something of a debate. (My discussion of this period relies, in part, on the important work, American Renaissance 1876-1917 published 1979 in conjunction with the exhibition of the same title given by the Brooklyn Museum.)

I will briefly discuss below some of the major characteristics that identify an American Renaissance monument, project, plan, building, or other work of art or architecture in relation to The Hall of Fame. I will also point out some of the main factors - "the genteel tradition", nationalism and civic pride - that propelled the movement and the creation of The Hall of Fame.

An unofficial group - referred to under the description of the "genteel tradition - of intellectuals, writers, educators, artists, along with businessmen, sought to educate, morally uplift and civilize the American people through art, education and civic beautification. Among this group can be included Henry Mitchell MacCracken, who started out as a philosophy professor in 1884 at New York University (then the University of the City of New York) and progressed to the position of Chancellor in 1891, a post he held till 1910. As an educator and The Hall of Fame's originator, he sought to embrace America's past by distinguishing both its leaders and its private citizens.

MacCracken was joined in his mission by like-minded men, those that undoubtedly shared the values of the "genteel tradition." For the first election in 1900, names were submitted by the general public through solicitation in newspapers. From this list the New York University Senate members narrowed down the candidates. The final selection was in the hands of a group of about 100 people nationwide - the electors - who were distinguished by such divisions as "University and College Presidents," "Professors," "Men of Affairs" and "High Public Officials." It would certainly be interesting to look more closely at these group of men, their mutual associations and how they were chosen.

As the first hall of fame in America and called the "National Pantheon" by journalists, the work was certainly conceived as a public monument that would arouse national, as well as civic sentiments. One of the criteria for candidacy in the original Constitution (later overruled) was that only native-born Americans could be elected. Nationalism was another major driving force in the production of American Renaissance public monuments and civic projects. What place did America have in the civilization of the world? What was its present position and how could it be maintained? If America was a great nation, should not its cities, its art and people reflect that greatness? These were some of the questions that propelled the re-evaluation of the nation as a whole, as well as its urban areas and their populace.

The vision that MacCracken saw for The Hall of Fame was a monument that would honor not only political leaders, such as George Washington (the only honoree voted in unanimously), but Americans who distinguished themselves in every field (one of the categories allowed for "miscellaneous" candidates). It was believed that visitors from all over the nation would look to those chosen men (and some women) and be inspired to higher values, particularly patriotism, nationalism and civic-pride. This honor role would serve as models of citizenry and greatness. (The notion of "greatness" was itself being redefined.) In addition, the Constitution from the start (but with much public opposition) allowed for the election of Southern figures (Robert E. Lee was elected in 1900 by 68 votes), which underscored the intent for the monument to somehow unify the nation. MacCracken wrote in the 1901 book he authored on the monument:

It [the group of electors] will know no South or North; no West or East. Its calm, clear judgment will overrule sectional and partisan outcry. (84)

Its importance to the city as a landmark was not lost on MacCracken, nor on the many editorial and newspaper writers who expressed civic pride in The Hall of Fame's location in New York City. The American Renaissance period can rightly be credited with continuing the goals of the City Beautiful Movement (which started in the mid-1850's) in the creation and decoration of America's metropolitan areas. New Yorkers in this time witnessed major aesthetic changes to their city. Major monuments with elaborate decoration and buildings with architectural ornamentation and allegorical figures were being erected before their eyes. College campuses, particularly that of Columbia University and New York University's uptown campus (on which The Hall of Fame stands) with their complex of Beaux-Arts style buildings were almost small cities in themselves. Monuments such as The Hall of Fame, visited by thousands each year, no doubt evoked a sense of pride in New York City, the intention of its creator and others with similar hopes.

Stylistically and in terms of landscape design, The Hall of Fame and its adjacent buildings are primary examples of American Renaissance architecture. While the style of the American Renaissance was eclectic most of the art referenced was mainly (but not exclusively) European. In the case of architecture the source was particularly French Beaux-Arts or more generally classicism. Intellectual, historic and artistic associations were made to the Italian Renaissance, which served as the "ideal" period of civilization and the predecessor to America's own greatness as a nation. The colonnade terrace of The Hall of Fame was created in a Beaux-Arts style as part of an ensemble of other buildings conceived within a total planned environment that took into consideration its surrounding landscape. Early photographs show, for example, that in the back of the monument, paths lead to its first level interior (to be discussed below) and the superb fountain in the back of the monument. Each part of the ensemble, the three buildings and the colonnade, work harmoniously in style, movement, and purpose.

The works and projects generated during the American Renaissance are particularly distinguished not only by style but also by how they were executed and the materials used. During this period a large-scale work or project was, in many cases, collaborative, meaning it was intended to be or was actually executed by many individuals - architects, painters, sculptors, craftsmen, artisans. This was certainly the case in the quintessential American Renaissance project, the World's Columbian Exposition (1893), which provoked Augustus Saint-Gaudens to remark, "This is the greatest meeting of artists since the fifteenth century." Corresponding with the variety of creative artists involved was the use of different mediums to create a "total work of art." For example, an American Renaissance mansion would have brought together architecture, painting, sculpture, mural painting, landscape gardening, stained glass, mosaics, ceramics, and other decorative arts.

While The Hall of Fame realized the vision of bringing together two of the main arts, sculpture and architecture, it fell short of actually incorporating painting, particularly, mural painting, which was a prominent feature in a number of public and private buildings during this period. The idea of including mural painting in the area named the "Museum of The Hall of Fame" was seriously discussed, though never realized. (Ralph Rourke, the current Director stated that, to his knowledge, the proposed mural project "never came to fruition.")

The first level or substructure (under the colonnade) was officially to be used as a museum as explained by MacCracken in his 1901 book:

The granite edifice which will serve as the foundation of The Hall of Fame shall be named the Museum of The Hall of Fame. Its final exclusive use shall be the commemoration of the great Americans whose names are inscribed in the colonnade above, by the preservation and exhibition of portraits and other important mementos of these citizens. The six rooms and the long corridor shall in succession be set apart to this exclusive use. The room to be first used shall be named the Washington Gallery, and shall be set apart so soon as ten or more portraits of the persons inscribed shall be accepted for permanent preservation by the University. . . . Statues and busts of the great Americans chosen may be assigned places either in the Museum of The Hall of Fame or in the Hall itself. (9-10)

The Museum walls would have been decorated with murals as the following paper given by the Society of Mural Painters reveals:

The Committee on Civic Buildings of the National Society of Mural Painters, having carefully considered the possibilities of the embellishment of the Museum of The Hall of Fame by appropriate mural painting, hereby makes the following suggestions: That it is eminently fitting that, in a commemoration of national greatness such as The Hall of Fame, the three great arts, Architecture, Sculpture, and Mural Painting, should collaborate, not only to perpetuate the memory of the great men of the nation for all time, but also to serve as an example of monumental art in America of today. . . . We would suggest that . . . the central gallery, which has the largest uninterrupted frieze-line, be taken up first, and a painting be placed here, chiefly allegorical, typifying American progress, the ideals of the nation, and its place in the history of civilization. (Reprinted in MacCracken, 1901, 71)

The Museum was to house painting, sculpture, as well as artifacts and archives that would grow into a collection of Americana, an example of how the monument would claim America's history and advance American culture. The subject of the proposed mural for the central gallery would have certainly expressed the major principles that galvanized the American Renaissance movement. (Also, according Rourke, the Museum housed a famous clock collection that was given over to the Smithsonian and the largest room was once used as a reserve reading room.)

Finally, The Hall of Fame was not publicly funded, nor was it paid for by the university, but rather it was financially sponsored by Helen Miller Gould, daughter of Jay Gould, who made his fortune in the railroad industry. The American Renaissance was a period when wealthy Americans, such as the Vanderbilts and the Rockefellers were trying to establish themselves as the stately and noble families of America. Their private homes, whether Fifth Avenue mansions or summer retreats were conceived and decorated by scores of artists working together to create harmonious outdoor and indoor living spaces. For the public good and perhaps to elevate their own social standing, they spent extensively in the fields of art and education, financing public works and projects, such as major museums, libraries and monuments as The Hall of Fame for Great Americans.

The current state of affairs:

The monument has not been entirely ignored in the last few years, particularly this past year since the centennial ceremonies have generated publicity (the Centennial Gala took place on June 12, 2000). Once called the "Hall of Shame," editorial, magazine and newspaper articles are being written with a much more sympathetic and even patriotic tone toward the monument and its plight for increased funding. Since restoration and preservation was done in the1980s and early 1990s, the condition of the busts and the colonnade is good, though continuous maintenance is needed.

Ralph Rourke, the Director of The Hall of Fame, is familiar with both the history of New York University and educational projects. He served as a Public Affairs Officer at NYU for years and is also an Emmy-Award winning producer for "Sunrise Semester," which was a nationally syndicated educational program that ran for twenty-five years. In 1987 he was hired by Bronx Community College as a media consultant, and two years later, in the fall of 1989, he took on the role of Director of the monument. Over the course of six years he raised at least $600,000 in state grant funds, when such funds were available. Under Governor Pataki state grants have been frozen. The monument only received $10,000 last year in state money, what Rourke has called a "token grant." Rourke conveyed that the American Heritage Trust, a division of The Department of Parks, The State Dormitory Authority, as well as the New York State Democratic Delegation to the Assembly, have all contributed in some way to preserving the monument.

What Rourke seems to be aiming toward is finding a way to have continuous, uninterrupted funding so that the monument can receive regular upkeep and function as a viable institution for the community and the nation as a whole. His goal is to bring The Hall of Fame "into the twenty-first century," while maintaining and fostering the original aims of education and inspiration.

This summer The Daily News (June 11, 2000) did a piece focusing on the four nominees (Louis D. Brandeis, Clara Barton, Luther Burbank, Andrew Carnegie) who have yet to have their busts commissioned and installed and the organizations that have failed them. Rourke related that the four busts not yet executed were originally supposed to be underwritten by individual organizations that made pledges. At this point these groups have not fulfilled their original promises. If they or other organizations don't come through, the tradition of underwriting the busts will have to be broken, Rourke said. Each bust is currently estimated to at least $25,000 a piece.

There seems to be good news on the horizon for The Hall of Fame. As an outcome of The Daily News story, Fernando Ferrer, the Bronx Borough President announced at the Centennial Gala that he is offering a half-million dollar matching grant "from the next capital budget." If the other half can be raised, the total sum of one million dollars would be an incredible boost for the monument, which is visited by approximately 25,000 people each year.

Concluding notes:

In these notes I hope I've conveyed my enthusiasm for this monument, that I actually like it and care about its longevity. If this sounds odd, it's the only way, aside from contributing these notes, to express my own feelings toward what may otherwise be a very neglected piece of American history. The only thing is that it is not dead history.

Through visiting it, researching and writing about it and hopefully discussing it in some future forum, scholars and writers can turn the tide of neglect to a more positive and focused sense of purpose.

Anyone with questions or comments, may write to ekem@aol.com. I will gladly share bibliographic sources I've come across and certainly welcome any further discussion. Also, if anyone is interested in creating a website with me on the The Hall of Fame, please contact me at my email address.

Sources and Documentation Notes:

Rather than give a full list of every citation, I provide below the location of sources, point to indexes and other reference material, as well as key texts that may serve to be useful. I am certain there are many other resources, but what I offer is a good start for any researcher. Please feel free to email me at ekem@aol.com for bibliographic questions and also if you would like to share any information that I have not come across.

Also Henry Mitchell MacCracken, The Hall of Fame Being the Official Book Authorized by the New York University Senate as a Statement of the Origin and Constitution of The Hall of Fame, and its History Up to the Close of the Year 1900 (New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1901) contains an Appendix of excerpts from dozens of articles from newspapers and magazines nationwide. The quote from World's Work, December 1900 at the beginning of this paper is found in this source.

Women and The Hall of Fame:
Anyone interested in the selection of women candidates and their election might look at Marguerite Vance, The Lamp Lighters: Women in The Hall of Fame (New York: E. P. Dutton, 1961) available at the NYPL. At one point there were serious plans for creating a separate "Hall of Fame for Women," but the idea was abandoned in 1922. Also see early newspaper articles and histories on The Hall of Fame for more on this projected addition.

New York University:
Bobst Library at NYU in the University Archives department holds many documents, letters, articles, a scrapbook, press releases, and photographs related to The Hall of Fame. See the MacCracken papers which contain correspondence and other documents in relation to Helen Miller Gould and the firm of McKim, Mead & White. This archive also holds many of the ceremonial pamphlets and a number of the early histories and promotional books published by New York University.

Periodical Articles:
Besides the articles found at the University Archives, citations of magazine, newspaper and other periodical articles can be found in The Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature (beginning with Vol. 1, 1900-1904) and the Art Index (starts Vol. 1, Jan. 1929-Sept. 1932). If anyone is interested in the accumulated list from these indexes, feel free to email me.

On the sculptors of the busts:
Wayne Craven, Sculpture in America (1968; New York: Cornwall Books, 1984) and Charlotte S. Rubinstein, American Women Sculptors A History of Women Working in Three Dimensions (Boston: G. K. Hall & Co., 1990) are key works.

Glenn B. Opitz, ed., Dictionary of American Sculptors "18th Century to the Present" (Poughkeepsie: Apollo, 1984) is a basic reference source.

Stanford White:
Leland Roth in his book, McKim, Mead and White (London: Thames and Hudson, 1984) has a chapter called "Ensembles, 1893-1899" in which he discusses Stanford White's designs for New York University's uptown campus, among other projects by the architect and firm in this period.

The medallions; and the National Sculpture Society:
In 1963, the Medallic Art Company began to issue a series of medals of the honorees. Anyone interested in the medallions might visit the National Sculpture Society (by appointment). Their office has a binder with published leaflets on the individual sculptors which reproduce the obverse (portrait of the honoree) and reverse (a design related to the subject's achievement) of the medal. Also a complete list of the medalists, who were not necessarily the sculptors of the busts, can be obtained from Ralph Rourke.

The National Sculpture Society also has clippings on The Hall of Fame and their "Minutes" from the late 1970's documents the organizations role to save the monument from deterioration.

Precedents and prototypes:
To what extent The Hall of Fame was MacCracken's personal vision is something that needs further exploration. What is certain though is that the actual structure, the semi-circular colonnade was not his conception, but Stanford White's. MacCracken repeated in several sources how the idea of The Hall of Fame came about. In a published interview given around the time of his retirement in 1910, MacCracken was quoted as saying that initially "There was no educational reason for it [the semi-circular structure]," which compelled him to think of one in order to justify the cost of its construction. MacCracken who had studied and lived in Germany for a brief period in the late 1860's noted that he "remembered the two Halls of Fame at Regensberg and Munich," and that the structure conceived by the architect "might be used as an American Hall of Fame." ("So Says Chancellor MacCracken on the Eve of Retiring," New-York Daily Tribune, Mar. [1910?] - for this article see scrapbook at University Archives.) It should be stressed that the original guidelines (in the Constitution) only specified for the possibility of including busts or statues in the Hall or Museum. The main intent was to fulfill the installation of memorial bronze tablets along the colonnade.

For Parisian precedents, particularly the PanthŽon, see June Hargrove The Statues of Paris : an Open Air Pantheon (New York: Vendome Press, 1990).

Beside the German and French references, comparisons in articles were also made to Westminster Abbey.

For early American precedents see Brandon Brame Fortune, "Portraits of virtue and Genius: Pantheons of Worthies and Public Portraiture in the Early American Republic, 1780-1920," Ph.D. diss., U of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1986. Also see sources on Statuary Hall in the Capitol.

Other halls of fame:
See Paul Soderberg, Helen Washington, Jacques Cattell Press, compl. and ed., The Big Book of Halls of Fame In the United States and Canada Sports (New York: R. R. Bowker, 1977).

On the American Renaissance:
The key text is The American Renaissance, 1876-1917 (Brooklyn: Brooklyn Museum, c. 1979).

Poetical sources on fame:
See Virgil, Aenid, Book VI; Chaucer, "The House of Fame"; Alexander Pope, "The Temple of Fame"; and Robert Underwood Johnson, "The Hall of Fame, at Night" in the pamphlet "Unveiling of Busts in the Auditorium of the Library of the University [May 28, 1936] [can be found at NYPL] - Johnson was the Director of The Hall of Fame from 1919 to 1937.

Race, gender and multiculturalism:
Since the monument mainly honors white male Americans and the students of BCC and the Bronx community are racially and ethnically diverse, these issues are particularly poignant and are major factors in the development and mission of the monument. See recent newspaper articles and editorials where these issues are addressed and South Bronx Hall of Fame : Sculpture by John Ahearn and Rigoberto Torres (Houston : Contemporary Arts Museum, c1991) and subsequent exhibitions of their collaborative work.

National Register of Historic Places would have a file on The Hall of Fame. Visit their site for more information at www.cr.nps.gov/nr/.

Awards were recently presented to The Hall of Fame from The New York Landmarks Conservancy and The Municipal Arts Society, both for commendations in preservation.

State of New York Dormitory Authority is the current superintendent of the monument.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Gwen Pier and Kathleen Hahn of the National Sculpture Society, Ralph Rourke of The Hall of Fame, Jessica at University Archives at New York University. Also thanks to Liosh S. for technical assistance and especially Judy and Luba K. for all their support. I am also indebted to Professor Sally Webster of The Graduate School at The City University of New York whose courses on the American Renaissance and other late-nineteenth century topics have informed my discussion here.

Related Sites:

A Yahoo search for "Hall of Fame for Great Americans" resulted in 124 web page matches. The sites include the official BCC webpage, encyclopedia, museum and tourist guide entries, features on the Bronx, a few popular articles, other halls of fame sites that reference the monument, sites that relate to individual honorees, electors, and a sculptor (Vincent Glinsky), as well as honorees by group (Southerners, composers, politicians).

The Honorees and Sculptors of The Hall of Fame for Great Americans:

Gilbert Charles Stuart, Laura Gardin Fraser, 1922. Bronze. Hall of Fame for Great Americans, Bronx Community College. Photo by Elena Kemelman.

A century hence many of their names will be as obsolete or as little understood in their significance as now are those of scores of eighteenth century men who were famous in their day. . . .
(signed "Penn," "Men and Things," Bulletin-Philadelphia, October 15, 1900)

The following is a list of the ninety-eight people elected to The Hall of Fame for Great Americans that have busts installed in the colonnade and the fifty-five sculptors of the busts. Nine of the busts are replicas and the rest are original to the monument. There are fourteen works, including male and female subjects, by eleven women sculptors. Four of the honorees (elected in the 1970s) are not yet represented by busts.

© 2000 Part and Elena Kemelman. All Rights Reserved.