WASHINGTON —The National Park Service has designated four new national historic landmarks, including the Adlai E. Stevenson II Farm, Mettawa, Ill.
The other national historic landmarks include the Detroit Industry Murals, Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, Mich.; George Nakashima Woodworker Complex, Bucks County, Pa, and 1956 Grand Canyon TWA-United Airlines Aviation Accident Site, Grand Canyon National Park, Ariz.
The sites join 2,540 other sites across the country recognized as places that possess value in illustrating or interpreting the heritage of the United States.
Adlai E. Stevenson II Farm, Mettawa, Ill. The Adlai Stevenson II Farm was the home of the twice-nominated Democratic candidate for the presidency and Ambassador to the United Nations. As U.N. Ambassador during the 1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion and the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, Stevenson played a major role in Cold War politics during the mid-20th century.
The farm was Stevenson’s home for most of his adult life and is closely associated with many of his important activities.
The Detroit Industry Murals, Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, Mich. Between July 1932 and March 1933, Diego Rivera, a premier leader in the 1920s Mexican Mural Movement, executed the Detroit Industry mural cycle, considered the United States’ finest, modern monumental artwork devoted to industry.
It depicts the City of Detroit’s manufacturing base and labor force on all four walls of the Detroit Institute of Art’s Garden Court.
Considered by many scholars to be Rivera’s greatest extant work in the United States, Detroit Industry is an exemplary representation of the introduction and emergence of mural art in the United States between the Depression and World War II.
George Nakashima Woodworker Complex, Bucks County, Pa. Internationally-renowned furniture designer and woodworker George Nakashima is recognized as one of America’s most eminent furniture designer craftsmen.
Nakashima’s work expresses a worldview that is based upon a unique set of circumstances, including his formal education in architecture, his exposure to European Modernism, Eastern religious philosophy, and traditional Japanese craft traditions, including instruction from Issei carpenter Gentaro Hikogawa while both were confined at the Minidoka Relocation Center, one of 10 internment camps established for Japanese Americans during World War II, and whose site is today administered by the National Park Service.
As a self-proclaimed woodworker, Nakashima became an important voice for the artist craftsmen helping to create a new paradigm for studio furniture production in the postwar period.
The George Nakashima Woodworker complex is significant for its innovative Japanese-influenced International Style structures designed by Nakashima and built under his direct supervision.
1956 Grand Canyon TWA-United Airlines Aviation Accident Site, Grand Canyon National Park, Ariz.
On June 30, 1956, a Trans World Airlines Super Constellation L-1049 and a United Airlines DC-7 collided in uncongested airspace 21,000 feet over the Grand Canyon in Arizona, killing all 128 people onboard the two flights.
The tragedy spurred an unprecedented effort to modernize and increase safety in America’s postwar airways, culminating in the establishment of the modern Federal Aviation Administration.
Other improvements that resulted from the crash included nationwide radar coverage, a common military/civilian navigation system, and the development of technologies such as collision avoidance systems and flight data recorders.
The National Historic Landmarks Program is one of more than a dozen programs administered by the National Park Service that provide states and local communities technical assistance, recognition and funding to help preserve our nation’s shared history and create close-to-home recreation opportunities.
