Eleanor Roosevelt Memorial
Artist:Dwyer, Michael Middleton and Jencks, Penelope
With: Bruce Kelly/David Varnell (architect)
Status: In Situ and Within Riverside Park
Title: Eleanor Roosevelt Memorial
Dates: 1996
Medium: Figure, lettering on pavers, plaques–bronze; boulder, foot stone–Belfast black granite; low wall and pavers–granite; concentric pavement–bluestone
Dimensions:Figure H: 7’11” W: 2’8½” D: 1’3″; boulder H: 4’1″ W: 3’9″ D: 2’9″; earth pedestal diameter 37’6″; pavers diameter 4′ (approximate); biography plaque H: 1′ W: 1’5½”; donor plaque H: 1’10” W: 3′; figure weight: 721 pounds
Inscription: Granite medallion 1: WHERE AFTER ALL, / DO UNIVERSAL HUMAN RIGHTS BEGIN? / IN SMALL PLACES, CLOSE TO HOME / SUCH ARE THE PLACES / WHERE EVERY MAN, WOMAN AND CHILD / SEEKS EQUAL JUSTICE, / EQUAL OPPORTUNITY, / EQUAL DIGNITY. / — / ELEANOR ROOSEVELT / 1958 /
Granite medallion 2: SHE WOULD RATHER LIGHT A CANDLE / THAN CURSE THE DARKNESS / AND HER GLOW / HAS WARMED THE WORLD / — / ADLAI E. STEVENSON / 1962 /
Plaque 1: ANNA ELEANOR ROOSEVELT / 1884-1962 / — / BORN IN NEW YORK CITY ON OCTOBER 11, 1884, SHE WAS ORPHANED AT AGE / TEN AND EDUCATED IN ENGLAND. SHE MARRIED FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT / IN 1905 AND BORE SIX CHILDREN BETWEEN 1906 AND 1916. SHE BECAME A / LEADER IN NEW YORK STATE’S DEMOCRATIC PARTY IN THE 1920’S AND SERVED / ACTIVELY FOR FOUR YEARS AS WIFE OF GOVERNOR ROOSEVELT. FROM 1933 / TO 1945 SHE GREATLY EXPANDED THE ROLE OF FIRST LADY OF THE / UNITED STATES. SHE FOUGHT FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF LABOR, MINORITIES, / THE POOR, WOMEN AND YOUNG PEOPLE. SHE WAS APPOINTED UNITED STATES / DELEGATE TO THE UNITED NATIONSBY PRESIDENT TRUMAN IN 1946. AS CHAIR / OF THE UNITED NATIONS COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS, SHE LED THE / SUCCESSFUL EFFORT THAT SECURED PASSAGE OF THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION / OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN 1948. SHE CONTINUED HER WORK AS TEACHER, WRITER, / ADVOCATE, AND HUMANITARIAN UNTIL HER DEATH ON NOVEMBER 7, 1962. / SHE IS REMEMBERED AS THE “FIRST LADY OF THE WORLD.”
Plaque 2: THE ELEANOR ROOSEVELT MONUMENT FUND EXPRESSES ITS GRATITUDE / TO THESE INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANIZATIONS FOR THE GENEROSITY AND TALENT / THAT HELPED RESTORE THE SOUTH LAWN OF RIVERSIDE PARK / AND CREATED THIS MONUMENT TO ELEANOR ROOSEVELT. / — / [28 NAMES] / — / PENELOPE JENCKS, SCULPTOR / BRUCE KELLY/DAVID VARNELL, LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS / — / RUDOLPH W. GIULIANI, MAYOR OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK / RUTH W. MESSENGER, PRESIDENT OF THE BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN / RONNIE M. ELDRIDGE, MEMBER OF THE CITY COUNCIL / — / HENRY J. STERN, COMMISSIONER OF PARKS AND RECREATION / MCMXCVI /
Description: Figure (heroic scale) half-seated against a boulder, circular foot stone, earth pedestal encircled by a low wall, concentric pavement, two inscribed pavers, two plaques