Phoenix Indian School, War Memorial, Northeast Corner of Central Avenue & Indian School Road, Phoenix

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS ARIZ,7-PHEN,17D-. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

The War Memorial commemorated "the students of this school who enlisted in the Army and Navy during the World War". The number of memorials dedicated particularly to service in the US armed forces by Native Americans is unknown, but is probably not large; this memorial may well have been the only one such in Arizona, if not the entire country; no others are known at this time. From an artistic viewpoint it was not distinguished by size or beauty; its importance lay in its uniqueness and value as a document of Native American history, which was extremely high. For a drawing of the War Memorial, see also HABS AZ-145 sheet 1 of 4. PHOENIX INDIAN SCHOOL, WAR MEMORIAL HABS NO.: AZ-145-D (page 2) PART I, HISTORICAL INFORMATION A. Physical History. 1. Date of erection: 2.

Architect/Builder: Architect not known; builder not known; possibly built by students of the School. 3. Original and Subsequent Owners: U.S. Department of the Interior. 4. Alterations and Additions: Light fixture on top removed at unknown date; water flow to drinking fountains discontinued at unknown date. Platform around base of Memorial added after original construction, but impossible to say when (see below). B. Historical Context The War Memorial was built in conjunction with the Memorial Hall that lay immediately to the north. It commemorated both the founding of the Phoenix Indian School and the service of students of the School in the First World War, as its inscribed plaques testified. It spoke also of the impulse of the U.S.

government to extend the benefits of European culture to native Americans while at the same time recognizing the possibility of their own value. PART n. ARCHITECTURAL INFORMATION A. General Statement. The War Memorial was made entirely of concrete, apparently cast in situ, and took the form of a small vertical tower rising above a stepped base, surmounted by a light fixture. 1. Architectural Character: The War Memorial may be described as being in a general way in the style of early twentieth-century American, i.e., Roman, classicism; beyond that it would be hard to go, given its small size and abbreviated detailing. 2. Condition of Fabric: Good, with some small chips and wear at the edges. B. Description.

Exterior, The War Memorial consisted of a rectangular block, 48" wide (east-west) x 42 deep (north-south) x 48 high, above which was a second rectangular block, 44" x 38" x 57" high, covered by a cap, 42" x 8 high at the edges and with upper surface sloped up to form shallow pyramid at crown, where a light fixture in the form of a white glass globe was set in a metal collar.

PHOENIX INDIAN SCHOOL, WAR MEMORIAL HABS NO.: AZ-145-D (page 3) On the south (principal) face, on the upper block, a shallow recess in the surface, 30" x 57" high, with within it an inner recessed panel, 14 x 41 high, with quadrant mold all round and molded torch in center; on the lower block, a shallow recess with quadrant mold all round and inset a yellow bronze plaque, 38 x 22" high, bearing an inscription in raised lettering and decorated at left and right edges with a torch with five- pointed stars above and below, all in low relief.

On the west face, on the upper block, molded decoration of a hanging swag suspended from rosettes, with center pendant and, below, a semi-circular niche, 14" wide x 6" deep x 22" high, with scallop motif in top, scallops convex instead of concave; on the lower block, at the top, a shallow recess in the upper surface, within the base of the niche above and extended outwards to form an ovoidal basin, with exterior formed as scallop shell, again with scallops convex, and within basin the end of a metal drainpipe, 1 i.d.; below, a shallow recess, 30" x 17 high, with quadrant mold all round, decorated with smaller version of hanging swag motif, as above, but lacking center pendant. All details on the east face identical to those on the west face.

On the north face, on the upper block, details as on the south face; on the lower block, a shallow recess with quadrant mold all round and inset a yellow bronze plaque, 33" x 19" high,bearing an inscription in raised lettering and with a decorative bolt head in the form of a pentagon with a molded rosette on its surface in each corner.

On all four sides of the central element a platform extended to form a base, (east- west) x 110 (north-south) x 5 high, with the addition of two further steps, 5 and 6" high, on the east and the west to give access to the fountain basins on those sides; low walls 10" wide extended from the corners of the central element to the corners of the platform, horizontal and then inverted cyma recta in profile and terminating at outer cornersof platform in small posts or newells, 10" square x 11" high, topped by small caps, 12" square, with depressed pyramidal tops. Construction. All of cast concrete, with formwork lines clearly visible on the east and west faces.

The steps of the base platform were left in unfinished cement render, smooth surfaced; the remainder, with the exception of the bronze plaques, was painted white. Cracks between the various components suggested the construction history: the base platform and its low walls were built after the central element, and on top of the surrounding pavement of concrete slabs on whose upper surface a grid pattern of incised lines appeared which extended under the base platform.

There was no indication to tell how long after the construction of the central element the surrounding platform was added, but the construction of the Elementary School in which was intended for smaller children, might have demonstrated at that time the need for steps to give access to the drinking fountains of the nearby War Memorial. Details. On the south (principal) face, on the yellow bronze plaque, an inscription, centered: PHOENIX INDIAN SCHOOL, WAR MEMORIAL HABS NO.: AZ-145-D (page4) IN MEMORY OF THE STUDENTS OF THIS SCHOOL WHO ENLISTED IN THE ARMY AND NAVY DURING HONOR ROLL THE WORLD WAR HONOR ROLL LEE RAINBOW * KILLED IN ACTION * WALLACE ANTONE CHARLES LAWS HUDSON LOCKWOOD JOSE JUAN CHICO PEDRO NORTEZ ISAAC JESE FRED V.

JACKSON CHARLEY WILSON JESSE WEBB OLIVER SNEED BLAINE CARLISLE CALVIN ATCHIAVIT WALTER KEYES WM. T.MOORE JOSE MARTINEZ ADOLPHKINNEY ROSS SHAW JOE MCCARTHY MARCUS CARBAHAL CHARLES REYNOLDS WILLIAM ENAS PETER MOORE HARLEY SHIPES JOHN H. PORTER HARRY LEWIS CHARLES COUGN JAMES LITTLE SON WILLIAM EBERSOL LEONHALLIAN SETHOLDMAN CHARLEY GEORGE LEWIS CARLISLE CLYDE HAKOO HARVIER ADAMS CONRADO MARTINEZ THEODORE FIERROS JOSHUA MORRIS GEORGE BELL EDWARD JOHNSON ANTONIO PALLAN JOHNMcNARY ROY LEFT HAND FRANK YOUNG EAGLE PRUDENCE RESVOLOSO WILLIAM BAKER GUYMAKTIMA CHARLES HARPER SCOTT ELDRIDGE JAMES MOSES JOSEPH PALLAN WEBSTER BUFFINGTON MAURICE ALEXANDER FRANK STANLEY JUAN P.

ENAS CRUZEMcDANIEL STEWART LEWIS HERMAN SOTO MIKEY TAHDOOAHNIPTAH FERNANDO RODREGUEZ CHARLES CEDERTREE TEDDIEWEAHKEE [ inscribed signature] On the north face, on the yellow bronze plaque, an inscription, centered: UNITED STATES INDIAN VOCATIONAL TRAINING SCHOOL ESTABLISHED THIS FOUNTAIN AND BUILDING ERECTED CHARLES H BURKE COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS "THE INDIAN WILL BECOME AN ASSET OR A LIABILITY AS WE CUL- TIVATE OR FAIL TO CULTIVATE HIS BODY, MIND AND SOUL WITH A VIEW TO FITTING HIM FOR AN HONORABLE PLACE IN OUR SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC STRUCTURE. "THE PURPOSE OF THIS SCHOOL IS TO INTRODUCE INDIAN YOUTH TO THE OPPORTUNITIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF CIVILIZATION AND TO ACQUAINT HIS CAUCASIAN BROTHER WITH THE STERLING QUALITIES OF THE NATIVE AMERICAN." Notes. 1.

Names on Honor Roll with variant spellings, e.g., JE E, COUGH, CEDERTREE, RODREGUEZ, were recorded as written. r PHOENIX INDIAN SCHOOL, WAR MEMORIAL HABS NO.: AZ-145-D (page 5) 2. Inscribed signature on the south plaque: E. Kopta. Emry Kopta was an Austrian- born American sculptor who was active in Arizona from the through the In addition to his work on the War Memorial, he was responsible for the models for the molds for the concrete blocks used in the construction of the Arizona Biltmore Hotel, Phoenix, Arizona, in Sources. See Source List in Phoenix Indian School Report, HABS NO.: AZ-145. Drawings located: no drawings were located for the original construction or for the alterations. Project Information. This project was undertaken according to the terms of Subagreement No.

2 to Cooperative Agreement No. CA-80O0-9-8O05 between United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service and the Arizona Board of Regents for and on behalf of Arizona State University. This project was carried out prior to transfer of the property from Federal ownership, and this property was documented as part of the Memorandum of Agreement among the Department of the Interior, Arizona SHPO, and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. Prepared by: Bernard M. Boyle. Title: Professor. Affiliation: School of Architecture, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona Date: 31 December