Mount Greylock War Memorial Tower - Adams, MA
Posted by: 
Facedances
N 42° 38.237 W 073° 09.966
18T E 650356 N 4722167
War Memorial Tower is located at the top of the highest point in the state, Mt. Greylock.
Waymark Code: WMCVA0
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 10/13/2011
Views: 23
The Massachusetts Veterans War Memorial Tower was built between 1931-32 and restored in 1975. It is a 93-foot tall Quincy granite tower with a beacon light. It was “Erected by Massachusetts in grateful recognition of the loyalty and sacrifice of her sons and daughters in war”. It was dedicated on June 30, 1933 “…intended a tribute to courage, endurance, loyalty and self-sacrifice wherever these qualities have been shown by Massachusetts men and women in the uniform of the state or nation.”
The following is from Wikipedia:
"The Veterans War Memorial Tower was approved by the state legislature in October 1930, supported by Senator Theodore Plunkett of Adams and Governor Frank G. Allen. The memorial was originally intended to be erected in Boston's Charles River Basin, before plans were changed to build it on Mount Greylock. It was designed by Boston-based architects Maginnis & Walsh, and built by contractors John G. Roy & Son of Springfield in 1931-32 at a cost of $200,000. It takes the form of a perpetually lighted beacon to honor the state's dead from World War I (and subsequent conflicts). The light used to be the strongest beacon in Massachusetts, with a nighttime visible range of up to 70 miles.
The architectural design of the tower, a 93-foot tall shaft with eight frieze-framed observation openings, was intended to have no suggestion of Utilitarianism but instead to display classic austerity. It includes some minor Art Deco details such as the decorative eagle on the base which were designed in part by John Bizzozero of Quincy, Massachusetts [Bizzozero also designed details on the Vermont Capitol building]. Inside it is a domed chamber for a reverential shine that was intended to store tablets and war relicts from wartime units in the state's history.
Although local legislators and residents advocated for local stone to be used, it was ultimately quarried from Quincy Granite. In part, it bears the inscription "they were faithful even unto death." One of the inscriptions inside the monument is, "Of those immortal dead who live again in the minds made better by their presence", which is a line from a poem by George Eliot. The translucent globe of light on top, originally illuminated by twelve 1,500 watt lights (now six), is said to be visible at night for 70 miles. The formal dedication ceremony on June 30, 1933 by Governor Joseph B. Ely was attended by about 1,500 and broadcast nationally over NBC radio."
Hours Open:
Open Daily 9am - 5pm from late May until November 1st.
Address:
Mount Greylock State Reservation
Rockwell Road
Adams, MA
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Visit Instructions:
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