National Garden is a fitting way to honor American heroes

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Henry Von Kohorn served in the U.S. Army as a first lieutenant.

Explicitly in response to the removal of statues and memorials across the country, late in his first term President Donald Trump issued an “Executive Order on Building and Rebuilding Monuments to American Heroes,” directing “the United States to establish a statuary park named the ‘National Garden of American Heroes.’” During the Biden presidency the project found itself on hold, but it is now again moving forward.

Planned as a celebratory element of the 250th anniversary of America’s founding, the National Garden of American Heroes is expected to consist of 250 life-size statues of American luminaries, flanked by plazas, reflecting pools, dining facilities, and an amphitheater – and is to be located in Washington, D.C., along the Potomac River, just south of the National Mall.  

Many nations have institutions that honor their most notable public figures – Westminster Abbey in Britain; the French Panthéon; the German Walhalla Temple. America, on the other hand, has no such institution. It should. In fact, it once did.

The Hall of Fame for Great Americans, the first of the many halls of fame in this country, was established in 1900 by New York University and was situated in a magnificent 630-foot outdoor colonnade on its former uptown campus, now the home of Bronx Community College.  In the early decades of the 20th century, election to the Hall of Fame was a signal honor – equivalent to being a Nobel laureate.

Comprised of 102 honorees, the Hall of Fame For Great Americans enshrined many of the most notable figures in the history of the United States. Every five years, candidates were nominated by the general public, then reviewed and elected by a board of 100 prominent citizens from every state in the Union – university presidents, professors, editors and jurists – including six U.S. presidents and three U.S. chief justices.  To ensure some degree of perspective, Hall of Fame honorees had to have been dead for 10 years, later extended to 25 years. The results of the elections were often front-page news throughout the country.

The creative team behind the Hall of Fame included the landscape designer, Frederick Law Olmsted; the architect Stanford White, who designed the elegant colonnade; and the decorative artist Louis Comfort Tiffany, who created bronze tablets for the honorees. Celebrated artists such as Daniel Chester French sculpted the many bronze busts.

Beginning in the 1940s, however, the Hall of Fame For Great Americans began a slow decline, falling victim to ineffective leadership, inadequate funding, and a less-than-ideal location. Now dormant, the Hall of Fame’s last election was held in 1976, and the final bronze bust – that of Franklin D. Roosevelt – was dedicated in 1992. As might be expected, many of the proposed nominees made their mark in the military, including such luminaries as Bull Halsey, Douglas MacArthur, George Marshall, George S. Patton, Jr., and John J. Pershing.

The Hall still stands in its original location, on a high bluff in the Bronx with a distant view of the Palisades, the original bronze busts still in place -- save those of Confederate leaders Robert E. Lee and “Stonewall” Jackson, removed in 2017 by order of former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

In connection with the planning for the National Garden of American Heroes, the White House recently issued a list of prospective nominees. Though there are some curious choices – Lauren Bacall, Alex Trebek, Dr. Seuss – a serious effort has been made to honor individuals from a wide variety of fields, backgrounds and historical eras. Yet, a project like the National Garden of American Heroes – which seeks to represent the nation as a whole – would benefit from a more inclusive and transparent nominating process, free from political influence. Historians, educators, civic leaders and the public could all have a role in these deliberations. Ideally, such an exercise would contribute to a broader national conversation about what it truly means to be an “American Hero.”

Like other nations, the United States should have an institution that honors its most illustrious figures – an entity that serves to educate and inspire Americans of all ages and backgrounds about our magnificent shared heritage. Though the Hall of Fame For Great Americans ultimately failed, that is no reason not to make another effort. Drawing lessons from its deficiencies, a properly constituted, independently administered, adequately funded, and tastefully executed “National Garden of American Heroes,” situated in the nation’s capital, would be a splendid addition to our country’s civic and cultural landmarks.