A ‘Statue of Liberty for the West Coast,’ the entire torsos of the presidents on Mount Rushmore, and a memorial honoring Native Americans are just a few of America’s great monuments that were once planned but never built.
Digital renderings created by NeoMam Studios offer a glimpse into what might have been.
‘We used lost plans and schematics to bring these unbuilt structures to life,’ the company said in a statement.
‘With this project, we aim to teach readers about the history of monuments they know and love, as well as spark their curiosity about unbuilt memorials that had the potential to become famous landmarks across the USA.’
The rendering above shows the Mother's Memorial, which was planned for Washington, D.C. as a tribute to the women's suffrage movement. The plan was never realized as the government struggled financially during the Great Depression
One of those unbuilt monuments is the Mother’s Memorial, which would have paid tribute to the women’s suffrage movement.
The memorial, which was conceived in the early 1920s and was planned for Washington, D.C., was supposed to have included a 297-foot high white marble arch built on top of a ziggurat of marble steps which run the length of a football field.
Planners were supposed to build figures atop the arch, including a mother holding a ‘torch of enlightenment.
While the structure appeared impressive on paper, it was never built because the government did not have money available at the time of the Great Depression, according to Smithsonian Magazine.
Another monument that never reached beyond the planning stage was one called Democracy Uniting the World.
What was initially planned as the ‘Statue of Liberty of the West’ envisioned three naked men from different racial groups holding up a giant globe.
The statue, which was set to be built in the San Pedro section of Los Angeles, was intended to inspire Asian nations to become democratic.
Another monument that never came to be was the Liberty Memorial. The structure, which was slated to be built in Kansas City, depicted a ruined acropolis which would have honored the fallen of World War I
The height of the planned structure was 480 feet, which would have surpassed Lady Liberty.
But the structure was never built, as the public did not have much enthusiasm for the project.
Another monument that
