McKinley Presidential Memorial in Canton, Ohio

The McKinley Presidential Memorial honors the president assassinated in 1901, although I hope I'm forgiven for having a real Rocky Balboa moment upon first seeing the memorial and its impressive tiered steps in Canton, Ohio.

We visited the memorial on a sunny spring day and found plenty of locals exercising by walking (or running!) up and down the 108 steps at the McKinley Memorial. This, mind you, may be even more impressive when you discover that the steps in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art that Rocky (the character that Sylvester Stallone portrayed in the 1976 flick of the same name) ran up only number 72!

The memorial building's perch atop a hill affords visitors making their way to the top of the steps a great view. President McKinley loved this plot of land so much during his lifetime that he suggested it as a potential site for a memorial to Stark County soldiers and sailors who died during America's wars.

President McKinley lived in Canton, practiced law in the city and ran several of his political campaigns from there. It was only natural then, that his closest advisors met shortly after his death and decided that this hometown spot so admired by the president would be perfect for his memorial and gravesite.

McKinley's advisors and admirers established the McKinley National Memorial Association and began raising money for the project in late 1901.

Then-Governor George Nash proclaimed McKinley's birthday in 1902 as a day of remembrance and schoolchildren observed the day by donating their pennies to the effort to build the president's memorial.

The memorial association held a competition to select a design for the presidential monument. More than 60 designs came in, and the association selected Harold Van Buren Magonigle of New York City to design the memorial.

Construction began June 1905, and the completed memorial's dedication took place in 1907.

Magonigle's design looks like a nice, domed building at first glance, but aerial views of the memorial and the grounds reveal that the design resembles a sword. The building is at the juncture of the sword's blade, guard and hilt. The Long Water, a 575-foot-long reflecting pool that is now the long lawn in front of the building, and the main steps leading up to the building represented the sword's blade. The sword represented McKinley's role as commander-in-chief during America's involvement in the Spanish-American War, and the cross configuration of the memorial's footprint represents the assassinated McKinley as a martyr.

Cincinnati-born sculptor Charles Henry Niehaus created the 9-1/2-foot-tall figure of McKinley that greets the step climbers on the way up to the memorial.

The memorial building contains the green granite-clad coffins of President McKinley and his wife, Ida Saxton McKinley. A traditional funeral wreath in a patriotic red-white-and-blue color scheme sat by the president's coffin the day when we visited the grave site.

The interior of the memorial building is 50 feet in diameter and measures 77 feet tall from the floor to the highest point of the domed ceiling.

I loved the red-white-and-blue skylight with a 45-star design representing the states in the union at the time of McKinley's death, which I'm featuring in tomorrow's Photo Friday post.

The Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society (now the Ohio Historical Society) took over the site in 1943. A major rehabilitation in 1951 included filling in the Long Water and staging a rededication of the memorial on the fiftieth anniversary of McKinley's death.

In 1973, the property came under the care of the Stark County Historical Society, and a second rededication of the memorial happened in 1992 after a five-year restoration.

We visited the museum next door to the memorial and drove on into town to visit the home of Ida Saxton McKinley. Be sure to check out my stories about those experiences, Discover something for everyone at the William McKinley Museum in Canton, Ohio and First Ladies' National Library and historic Saxton-McKinley Home in Canton, Ohio.

Note: The memorial building is also accessible via elevator. Ask for the elevator access codes at the museum's admissions office.

Want to learn more? The McKinley Monument: A Tribute to a Fallen President by Christopher Kenney is an especially interesting look at the conception and construction of the memorial that includes a lot of great shots of the construction process and some of the alternate plans submitted during the design competition.

© Dominique King 2012 All rights reserved

Comments

[Kathy Gray]

Great article & pics! I sometimes eat lunch there in the summer and watch people running the steps. My goal is to someday be able to "walk" up the steps without getting winded, lol!

[Dominique King]

Thanks, Kathy!
It was a bit of a trek to the top for sure, but I was happy it was such a nice day when we visited--all the better for taking photos :)

[Marcus Hall]

The McKenley Monument is a wonderful place to be. In fact... I live 5 minutes away from the monument. I go there quite often to run the stairs and even the track. A lot of people go there the fish or feed the geese there. It gives you a pice of mind and a great place to exercise. Not to mention the Pro Football Hall Of Fame is right behind the park. So not only do you get to experience your former president memorial, but you can also get a visit to the Hall of fame football. I hats a win win. I recommend that if you ever get a chance come on dowm and visit one of the most of interesting places in the world.

[Dominique King]

I'm not even much of a football fan (I'm more into hockey), but I still found the Football Hall of Fame very interesting. Hoping to get back down to Canton again to see the HOF since it's been redone!