#315 Abandoned Pantheon: The Hall of Fame for Great Americans

The Bowery Boys: New York City History

Tom Meyers

Places & Travel, History, Documentary, Society & Culture

4.7 • 3.9K Ratings

🗓️ 31 March 2020

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

EPISODE 315 The Hall of Fame for Great Americans, founded in 1900, was a precursor to the Nobel Prize and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, a vaunted tribute to those who have contributed greatly to the development the United States of America. Located on the campus of Bronx Community College in the University Heights neighborhood of the Bronx, the Hall of Fame features the sculpted bronze busts of 96 individuals considered worthy of renown in their day, arranged along a columned arcade designed by Stanford White. It was so important in the early 20th century that the Baseball Hall of Fame and the Hollywood Walk of Fame derive from its example. The Hall of Fame for Great Americans even pops up in The Wizard of Oz! But today it is virtually forgotten. And no person has been elected to the Hall of Fame since the 1970s. This is the story of a university with lofty intentions, a snapshot of early 20th century optimism, and a look at a few questionable considerations of 'greatness'. *There were once 98 busts but two were removed in 2017. boweryboyshistory.com Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/boweryboys

Transcript

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0:00.0	The Bowry Boys episode 315, abandoned Pantheon, the Hall of Fame for great Americans.
0:08.0	Hey, it's the Bowry Boys.
0:10.0	Hey!
0:11.0	Support for the Bowry Boys is provided by our listeners.
0:14.0	Join us for as little as $1 a month by visiting patreon.com slash Bowry Boys.
0:24.0	Hi there, welcome to the Bowry Boys. This is Greg Young.
0:27.0	And this is Tom Myers.
0:29.0	And Tom, we're far away from each other right now, but I want you to even imagine a place further away.
0:37.0	I want you to imagine something continental and epic.
0:40.0	I'm ready for this. Where are you whisking me off to?
0:43.0	Okay, so imagine the hills of ancient Greece, the gods and goddesses of ancient times.
0:50.0	A great Pantheon shining down from Mount Olympus.
0:54.0	Now, imagine that this is not in Greece, but in the United States of America.
1:00.0	And imagine that we're not talking about mythical gods, but the sculptural representation of American gods.
1:09.0	Or shall I say the great cultural and scientific men and women of the age.
1:14.0	I can just see it. Where is this shining beacon on a hill?
1:18.0	That beacon is in the Bronx, a stone colonel that overlooks the Harlem River and the area of Upper Manhattan.
1:26.0	This is the Hall of Fame for great Americans.
1:31.0	You have really painted quite a picture here, Greg. I can practically hear the angelic choir singing now.
1:38.0	I also happen to know that this is one of your favorite places in the entire city.
1:44.0	Oh, yeah, it's a little bit pretentious. It's a little bit cheesy.
1:49.0	And most of all, it is more or less abandoned.
	...

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