World War II Memorial Garden

Date

1997-present

Location

South side of Finney Chapel off North Professor Street

Architects/Collaborators

McKnight Associates, Cleveland (landscape architect)

History

Located on the south side of Finney Chapel, the World War II Memorial Garden commemorates the seventy-five Oberlin College alumni who lost their lives in the Second World War. The idea for creating such a memorial was born at a special alumni reunion held in 1995, entitled “Reflection on the ’40s: Impact of the War Years.” William H. Warren ’48 and Caroline (Morris) Warren ’46 suggested creating a memorial at Oberlin, eventually forming a committee with several other alumni, including Geoffrey Blodgett ’53, the Danforth Professor of History.

The committee proposed to create a “War Memorial Garden” with a monument listing all alumni who lost their lives in the war, regardless of which nation they served. The idea for this type of inclusive tribute came from a monument the Warrens had seen at Oxford University on a recent trip to the United Kingdom. The committee’s discovery that Masaru Nakamura, a graduate of the Oberlin School of Theology, died while serving in the Imperial Japanese Navy, tested the committee’s commitment to universally mourning Oberlin alumni killed in action. After some discussion, all members agreed his name must be included.

Landscape architect James McKnight (McNight Associates), of Cleveland, Ohio, won the contract to design and create the memorial. McKnight drew on the Cass Gilbert Romanesque design and materials of Finney Chapel. The low wall in the garden, on which are inscribed the names of the war’s dead, is reminiscent of the ruins from a cloister. Groundbreaking for the memorial was held during the 1996 commencement/reunion weekend, though it was mostly symbolic in nature. In the following year, fundraising continued and the design was further refined. In March of 1997, actual ground was broken and the structure was completed in time for the 1997 commencement weekend.

Sources

“Oberlin Monuments & Outdoor Sculpture: World War II Memorial Garden,” Oberlin Heritage Center website, accessed May 22, 2015.

Oberlin College Archives, William H. Warren Papers, RG 30/332.