A new database of World War I monuments includes the Ottawa Washington Park memorial to military members who died in several wars. Landmarks Illinois Director of Reinvestments Suzanne Germann says the Pritzker Military Foundation gave a grant in 2017 to honor America’s entry into the Great War. The organization decided to give grants to restore memorials. To do that, Landmarks Illinois started a survey to find out where the memorials are.
And then the communities asked for grant money for restoration projects if they were planning any. One of the memorials restored in northern Illinois is the New York St. Bridge in Aurora.
Germann says there are so many beautiful tributes to the war, she can’t pick a favorite. They range from doughboy statues (the war’s infantrymen were called doughboys) to stained glass depictions to a goddess of victory statue.
The Landmarks Illinois database is online now, and Germann says the organization is still finding out about memorials it missed, like the one inside the downtown Ottawa LaSalle County courthouse. It’s also getting more information about the memorials it included.
The World War I memorial inside the downtown Ottawa LaSalle County courthouse isn’t in the Landmarks Illinois database. But as the organization continues learning about memorials it missed, it will include them.
A sampling of names on the World War I memorial inside the LaSalle County courthouse in downtown Ottawa.