Rotary Peace Communities & Friendship Monuments
This is a list of peace & friendship monuments only. To me, a “peace monument” is any physical and public object (usually but not necessarily outdoors), including a park or garden, which is named or dedicated for “peace.” The list does NOT necessarily include other Rotary projects which contribute to peace, including so-called Rotary Peace Cities, although five of the 14 listed monuments (*as indicated with asterisks) are in cities said to be Rotary Peace Cities.
This list is in no particular order. Date is year of dedication (if known).
Also note that all information is unconfirmed and that Rotary’s connection to each monument may vary, e.g. in some instances may be limited to the original idea or creation of the monument and not necessarily to present-day ownership or other on-going connection.
Edward W. (Ted) Lollis, Knoxville, TN 37922, USA
Edward W. Lollis began this portion of our history website.
Photo made Aug. 9, 2005, the 60th anniversary of the Nagasaki bomb, of Ted reading during a ceremony at the International Friendship Bell in Oak Ridge, TN.
“A la Amistad” by Frautino Aizkorbe, Rotary Club gift to Valadolid, Spain, for its fourth century as a city, 1998.
International Peace Grove, Tilden Park, Berkeley, CA, USA, via Inspiration Point, 1955
Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, US/Canada, Glacier Park/Waterton Park, 1932
International Friendship Gardens & Peace Bell, Michigan City, Indiana, USA. Intl Friendship Gardens, 1933
*Peace Monument, Georgia, Milledgeville, USA.
Monumento Rotario a la Paz, Mexico, Matamoros
*Rotary Peace City Monument, East Los Angeles, East LA Community College, CA, USA. 1996
Peace Monument, Ivan Jack Drive, Wagga Wagga, NSW, Australia. 1993
Rotary Peace Park, Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada, downtown on Yukon River
Rotary International Peace Park, Waterloo, ON, Canada, RIM Park, 2005
Rotary Peace Park, Parksville, BC, Canada, on Vancouver Island, 2004
Rotary Peace Park, Vegreville, AB, Canada, near Ukrainian egg
Chandigarh, India (the city designed by French architect LeCoubusier)
“The Peace Memorial was to have been dedicated by the 1940-41 RI President Armando de Arruda Pereira of Sao Paulo, Brazil, but inclement weather made the dedication impossible. “Perhaps, fortuitously, the RI President who would serve for the Rotary year 1941-42, Thomas Davis of Butte, Montana was able to return to Colorado for the formal dedication.
An International Park between the U.S. and Mexico in the Big Bend area of Texas, Chihuahua and Coahuila was first proposed in 1935.
Over 400 Rotarians from both districts helped to dedicate the project and encourage its completion when Past RI President Jim Lacy presided over a ceremony on Nov. 8, 1998 at Chamizal National Memorial.
Rotary Peace Monument, Canada-ON, Windsor, Roseland… The object of the monument is to bring together people in our community in the promotion of lasting peace through fellowship, international understanding and goodwill and encouraging and fostering respect for the life and dignity of every person. The Rotary Club of Windsor Roseland facilitates activities associated with the monument and the promotion of international peace in our community. Anna Jurak, PP, Rotary Club of Windsor Roseland
Arnold-area residents are not giving up on peace just because some thug tore down their monument to global harmony. The Arnold Rotary Club dedicated a second peace pole in White Pines Park on Saturday morning. The first one, erected in September 2001, was cut down in July 2003. A suspect was never identified and the pole was not recovered. Bearing the message “May peace prevail on earth,” in four languages, the new 16-foot pole was put in place before a crowd of about 35 people in the park’s Rotary grove.
Ambassador Martin J. Silverstein and Hector Rubio Sica, president of the Rotary Club of Montevideo, laid flowers at the base of a monument and unveiled a new bust of U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt Monday (April 12, 2004). The statue of Roosevelt, the 32nd U.S. president, had been destroyed with dynamite by terrorists in 1979. The bust of the late president was replaced by the Rotary Club in 1997, only to be stolen in 2002. Speaking before the small crowd, Rubio Sica said the Rotary Club’s work in this project, “demonstrates that there is no specific reason for men to hate each other; that because of differences in cultures and races or for different reasons or bad interpretations, we have not reached a liberal understanding. We should find the precise formula to work successfully for universal peace. If we succeed in accomplishing this, the highest Rotarian aspirations will come true.”
PEACE ISLAND… Members of the Rotary Club of Saipan unveil the Rotary Peace Monument at the American Memorial Park as part of the group’s effort to promote peace and understanding around the world.
A 40+ year old Rotary friendship garden in Evanston, IL
|
Puerto Vallarta, 1996 |
Jeffrey A. Reiss, Coordinator |
A proposal beginning in 1935 to proclaim an “International Peace Park” in the Big Bend National Park area bordering Texas and Mexico, finally saw a combined effort involving the Carlsbad Rotary Club, District 5520 of Texas and District 4110 of Mexico, passing resolutions and receiving approval to reclassify the original area as a “Rotary Peace Park”.
These resolutions were passed at various times in 1997 and to date, work is ongoing in completing this joint project.
A photograph of the bust of Paul Harris erected in Bangalore in the centennial year.