Up Goes Hamilton

A wealthy Chicago spinster named Kate Buckingham had two consuming interests: art and Alexander Hamilton. Regarding Hamilton as "one of the least appreciated of the great Americans," she decided to build him an eye-catching memorial. To this end she set aside $1,000,000 of the fortune her father, Ebenezer Buckingham, had made in banking and grain elevators. Before her death in 1937, Kate commissioned a heroic statue of Hamilton from Sculptor John Angel, and was considering as its setting a monumental eye catcher, designed by Finnish Architect Eliel Saarinen, with four 80-ft. fluted granite pillars topped by huge bronze discs.

Construction of the memorial was held up while lawyers quibbled about the terms of Kate's will, and the trustees finally turned down the Saarinen design as too ambitious. War restrictions caused a further delay.

Last week, 14 years after Kate Buckingham's death, ground was finally broken for a less conspicuous monument to be constructed in Lincoln Park. The new 130-ft.-sq. memorial should still attract plenty of attention. On top of three stone terraces a polished black granite pylon would rise 70 feet, dwarfing the 13-ft. statue of Hamilton (completed ten years ago) -- not to mention the park's 12-ft. bronze Lincoln.

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