Lex Anteinternet: The Migrating Memorial: Some Gave All: World War One Memorial, Laramie Wyoming

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

The Migrating Memorial: Some Gave All: World War One Memorial, Laramie Wyoming

This is our entry for the World War One Memorial in Laramie, Wyoming: Some Gave All: World War One Memorial, Laramie Wyoming:

The memorial is impressive in that it lists everyone from Albany County or from the University of Wyoming (students) who was killed during World War One. Quite a list of names. That really says something about the Great War.

The reason I've cross posted this over here is that, as this entry reveals, and with links, this memorial was once in the middle of a prominent intersection in downtown Laramie. It was essentially the psychological center of the town. But only for a few years. By 1929 it had been moved to its current location.

I'm not sure what, if anything, this says. It certainly would seem to indicate that at one time the memory of the Great War was of central importance to the residents of Albany County, which actually has two WWI memorials. Now, it's on a corner of the courthouse block, which is not uncommon anywhere, but the corner is the back corner actually, which is a semi quiet residential street corner.

On the other hand, it would have been necessary to move it. Maybe when it was put up right after World War One an intersection could have a memorial dead center, but no way that one could have after the mid 1920s. It would have been destroyed in traffic accidents.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...: The memorial monument was moved because it was feared that it would be struck by an auto at the increasingly busy downtown intersection. I can't prove it at this point, but new location corner was most likely chosen as it is diagonal to the Ivinson mansion. Edward Ivinson paid for the memorial and asked that it be placed downtown in the intersection because of its significance to him; he built three of the four buildings on the intersection and was president of the First National Bank for many years. The bank was located on the fourth corner. Ivinson died in April 1928. Ivinson was a major philanthropist for the city and county.
Kim Viner
Commander U.S. Navy (ret)
Senior Docent Laramie Plains Museum
If you would like more information on the memorial, its construction, and impending rededication, I can be contacted at kdviner@msn.com; Saturday, March 23, 2013 at 12:47:00 PM MDT

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