ROOSEVELT MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION FILES, circa 1960-1982

Summary:Records of the Roosevelt Memorial Association, a non-profit corporation established to raise money to construct and maintain a memorial to President Franklin Roosevelt.

Records of the Association include documents such as the Certificate of Incorporation (1961) and tax exemption applications; financial records comprising lists of donors and receipts for expenses (1962-75); the program from the dedication, and articles written about the memorial. This series also includes the records of the sale of works donated by Roosevelt artists which was held to raise money for the association. Artists represented include Jacob Landau, Ben Shahn, Bernarda Bryson Shahn, Jonathan Shahn, Abby Shahn, Gregorio Prestopino, David Stone Martin, Sol Libsohn, Stefan Martin, J. Kearns, Herb Steinberg, E. Schlinsky and Robert Mueller.

Artist Ben Shahn first conceived of the idea and drew up the sketches in 1945 after the president's death, but was unable to raise the $20,000 needed to build the memorial. The idea was revived in 1960, when civic leaders wanted to do something for the upcoming 25th anniversary of the town in 1961. They formed the Roosevelt Memorial Association, which raised $25,000 from the community and outside donors. The memorial consisted of a five-foot high bronze bust of President Roosevelt, an amphitheater and reflecting pool. The bust was sculpted by Ben Shahn's son Jonathan and cast in Italy. Local architect Bertram Ellentuck drew the blueprints of the site free of charge, contractor and Roosevelt mayor Irving Plungian did the construction at cost, and Marvin Feld contributed the landscape architecture. The memorial was dedicated in June 1962 at a ceremony at which Eleanor Roosevelt spoke.