Bunker Hill Monument

History

The Bunker Hill Monument is a war memorial on Breed's Hill in the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It commemorates the Battle of Bunker Hill, a major American Revolutionary War battle that took place there on June 17, 1775. The monument primarily consists of a 221-foot-tall (67 m) granite obelisk at the center of Monument Square Park, within the Monument Square Historic District. The obelisk was designed by Solomon Willard and erected between 1825 and 1843. It is flanked by William Wetmore Story's statue of William Prescott to the south and an entrance building to the north. Designated as a National Historic Landmark, the Bunker Hill Monument is part of the Freedom Trail and Boston National Historical Park.

The first monument at the site was dedicated in 1794 and honored American soldier Joseph Warren, who was killed in the battle. After the site was placed for sale in 1822, the Bunker Hill Monument Association (BHMA) was formed to acquire and preserve the site. Willard took over the design from Loammi Baldwin Jr., who drew up the original specifications based on a design that Horatio Greenough submitted for a design competition. The cornerstone was laid in 1825, but due to insufficient funds, work was halted twice for extended periods between 1829 and 1840. The monument was dedicated on June 17, 1843.

When completed, the Bunker Hill Monument was the United States' largest obelisk. The monument has required ongoing maintenance through the years. A temporary wooden entrance building was built in 1857, and the Prescott sculpture was added in 1881. Following decades of fundraising, a granite entrance building was completed in 1902. The BHMA maintained the monument until 1919, when Massachusetts's Metropolitan District Commission (MDC) took over. The monument has been owned and managed by the National Park Service since 1976.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. The official nomination form is linked under Sources.