Strike Memorial
The Auto-Lite Plant closed in 1962, and the plant and property were eventually deeded to the city of Toledo. The city did nothing with the structure, and the abandoned plant became an eyesore. After much pressure from local citizens to tear down the plant, the former Auto-Lite facility was demolished on August 30, 1999, and the site turned into a park.
On May 12, 2001, the city of Toledo dedicated a memorial on the site to commemorate the 1934 strike. The site was turned into a new city park, named Union Memorial Park. Seattle sculptor Hai Ying Wu designed two life-sized bronze statues of picketers, which were placed on a plaza made of bricks salvaged from the Auto-Lite plant. A nearby doorway of concrete and brick, also salvaged from the plant, serves as a gateway to the plaza. The memorial cost $225,000.
Read more about this topic: Auto-Lite Strike
Famous quotes containing the words strike and/or memorial:
“It is possible to lead astray an entire generation, to strike it blind, to drive it insane, to direct it towards a false goal. Napoleon proved this.”
—Alexander Herzen (1812–1870)
“When I received this [coronation] ring I solemnly bound myself in marriage to the realm; and it will be quite sufficient for the memorial of my name and for my glory, if, when I die, an inscription be engraved on a marble tomb, saying, “Here lieth Elizabeth, which reigned a virgin, and died a virgin.””
—Elizabeth I (1533–1603)