At A Glance
Honorable Samuel Beecher Hart, a Pennsylvania legislator and captain of the Gray Invincibles, proposed the memorial
Installed in a remote area in West Fairmount Park in 1934
Relocated in 1994 to the Benjamin Franklin Parkway as originally proposed
Featured Story: The Disturbing and Inspiring History of the “All Wars Memorial” >>
The Honorable Samuel Beecher Hart, a Pennsylvania legislator and captain of the Gray Invincibles, the last “colored” unit in the Pennsylvania Militia, proposed a memorial to the state’s African American military men who had served the United States in wartime. In 1927 funds were appropriated to construct “a lasting record of their unselfish devotion to duty.” After considerable dispute about placing the sculpture on the Parkway, officials agreed on a site in West Fairmount Park.
Sixty years after its installation in a remote area of Fairmount Park, the city relocated the All Wars Memorial to a much more visible site on the Parkway
At the top of the All Wars Memorial, sculptor J. Otto Schweizer placed a “torch of life,” surrounded by four American eagles. Below, as the central figure at the front of the memorial, stands the allegorical figure of Justice, holding symbols of Honor and Reward. To the left and right are groups of African American soldiers and sailors, both officers and enlisted men. Allegorical figures at the rear of the monument represent the principles for which American wars have been fought.
In 1994 an extraordinary and overdue event occurred. Sixty years after its installation in a remote area of Fairmount Park, the city relocated the All Wars Memorial to a much more visible site on the Parkway, as originally proposed. A day of festivities was organized thanks to an enthusiastic civic group, The Committee to Restore and Relocate the All Wars Memorial.
Adapted from Public Art in Philadelphia by Penny Balkin Bach (Temple University Press, Philadelphia, 1992).
Voices heard in the Museum Without Walls: AUDIO program: Charles Fuller (1939-2022) was an American playwright who won the Pulitzer Prize in drama for “A Soldier’s Play.” Samuel Hart Jones, Jr. is a great-grandson of the Hon. Samuel Beecher Hart, whose efforts resulted in the All Wars Memorial. Michael B. Roepel is President of the Committee to Restore and Relocate the All Wars Memorial. | Segment Producer: Jonathan Menjivar
Museum Without Walls: AUDIO is the Association for Public Art’s award-winning audio program for Philadelphia’s outdoor sculpture. Available for free by phone, mobile app, or online, the program features more than 150 voices from all walks of life – artists, educators, civic leaders, historians, and those with personal connections to the artworks.
RESOURCES:
This artwork is part of the Along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway tour
