East Coast Memorial

Public Art: East Coast Memorial

Sculptor : © Albino Manca (1898-1976)

Architects : Gehron & Seltzer

Description: The East Coast memorial is dedicated to the US servicemen who lost their lives in the coastal waters of the Atlantic Ocean during World War II. The center piece of the memorial is an enormous bronze eagle statue which is gripping a laurel wreath atop a wave. The sculpture stands on a polished black granite pedestal. The eagle faces towards the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. On both sides of the eagle are eight massive 19ft gray granite pylons with the list of names of the 4,609 men who gave their lives.

Date unveiled : The East Coast Memorial was dedicated by President John F Kennedy (1917-1963) on the 23rd of May, 1963. The ceremony included speeches by JFK, the former New York Mayor, Robert F. Wagner Jr and the former Senate majority leader Mike Mansfield. During the ceremony the destroyer USS Mitscher, which was waiting offshore, fired a salute.

Commissioned: American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC)

Location: The East Coast Memorial is located at the southern end of Battery Park, Manhattan, New York City.

Acknowledgements: Thank you to David Westerman and Heidi Armstrong from State Custodians for kindly providing the photographs.

Battery Park Trivia

Battery Park is located on the southern tip of Manhattan Island facing the harbor.

It was named after all the artillery batteries that were positioned there when the city was first settled.

The Park and nearby Battery Park City were built on landfill.

Clinton Castle, which is a fort on a small island in Battery Park, became the world's first immigration depot in 1855. It processed millions of immigrants before Ellis Island was opened some 40 years later.

Zelda is a resident wild turkey that has lived in Battery Park since 2003. She was named after F.Scott Fitzgerald's wife because during one of her nervous breakdowns she wandered off and was found eventually in Battery Park.

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