Nat’l McKinley Birthplace Memorial- Niles, OH

The McKinley Birthplace Memorial is a stunning example of the grand tributes once erected in the United States. Authorized by President Taft a decade after McKinley’s assassination, a national competition was held to determine the design of the monument, which would also include a library, museum and auditorium. 

The legendary firm of McKim, Mead and White’s classical inspired Beaux Arts design won the contest, beating out entries from Cass Gilbert, Henry Bacon and Harold Van Buren Magonigle. Fashioned as a modern day temple, and constructed of Georgia marble, it featured a grand colonnade, with a twelve foot statue of McKinley in the center courtyard. Dedicated in 1917, the elegant and graceful monument remains impressive today.